Observation of H/D isotope effects on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell operations

Abstract

The hydrogen isotope effects upon operation of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell have been observed. The deuterium concentration in the exhaust hydrogen gas from the cell was found lower than that of the hydrogen gas fed to the cell, which indicated that the heavier isotope of hydrogen was preferentially oxidized at the anode. The overall hydrogen isotopic separation factor between the oxidized and non-oxidized hydrogen ranged from 3.46 to 3.99 and increased with decreasing flow rate of the feed gas or increasing rate of hydrogen utilization.