Sanghoon Ji, Yong-Sheen Hwang, Taehyun Park, Yoon Ho Lee, Jun Yeol Paek, Ikwhang Chang, Min Hwan Lee, Suk Won Cha
Abstract
Graphite foil has been considered as a promising bipolar plate material in polymer electrolyte fuel cells due to its high electrical conductance and high corrosion resistance as well as low manufacturing costs. However, the highly flexible character of graphite foil led to physical deformation under external mechanical and thermal stimuli during fuel cell operations. In this study, we show a modified bipolar plate to overcome the weakness by combining with a mechanically sturdy component — polycarbonate plate. A unit cell with the assembled bipolar plates showed stable powering behaviors under thermal cycling. There was no significant difference in ohmic resistance between a unit cell with the assembled bipolar plates and a unit cell with graphite plates.