Effect of Activation Procedures on the Performance of H۲/ Air Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC)

A newly fabricated polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell usually needs a activation period to be activated and reach its best performance [۱]. Activation procedures could be understood as all the actions that can bring the MEA to its highest and stabilized performance. Many different activation protocols developed base on continues, pulse and cycling of the potential or current. The US Fuel Cell Council (USFCC) has established cell activation protocols to standardize the process [۲].In this work two conditioning procedures to condition PEM cells, such as constant voltage ۰.۶V and USFCC protocol were applied to two PEM cells. The performances of activated cells were studied based on polarization curves and impedance spectroscopy. Results showed that selection of MEA activation procedure is important in H۲/air PEMFC and constant voltage procedure o.۶V produce better performance than another.

کلیدواژه ها:

Proton exchange membrane fuel cell ، Activation procedure ، Polarization curve ، Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy