A comprehensive review on water management strategies and developments in anion exchange membrane fuel cells

Rambabu Gutru (1, 2) , Zarina Turtayeva (2) , Feina Xu (2) , Gaël Maranzana (2) , Brigitte Vigolo (1) , Alexandre Desforges (1)

1 IJL - Institut Jean Lamour
2 LEMTA - Laboratoire d'Energétique et Mécanique Théorique et Appliquée

In spite of significant achievements in alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) in recent years, they are still lagging behind proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) due to performance instability. Among the relevant operational parameters of AEMFC, the researchers have found that poor water management within the cell was the main reason for failure of the system. In the past five years, numerous modeling and experimental works were reported proposing different strategies to improve water management of AEMFC. The achievable power output in AEMFCs is then comparable with that of PEMFCs or even more. Efforts have to be continued, but AEMFCs can become a strong competitor in the market place. This review paper discusses the strategies and developments impacting water management of AEMFCs providing knowledge source for upcoming studies.

Mots clés: AEMFC; Microporous layers; Gas diffusion layers; Ionomers; Electrocatalysts; Relative humidity

Domaines: Matériaux; Catalyse; Matériaux

Rambabu Gutru, Zarina Turtayeva, Feina Xu, Gaël Maranzana, Brigitte Vigolo, et al.. A comprehensive review on water management strategies and developments in anion exchange membrane fuel cells. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, 2020, 45 (38), pp.19642 - 19663. ⟨10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.05.026⟩. ⟨hal-02931551⟩