Degradation of high temperature PEM fuel cells and the impact on electrical performance

Abstract

This paper presents the effect different degradation mechanisms have on the electrical performance of a high temperature PEM fuel cell. The changes to the fuel cell composition and internal chemistry is related the drop in electrical performance. In particular, three main effects will be discussed. This includes the impact of carbon support and catalyst degradation, loss of phosphoric acid in the membrane and CO poisoning of the catalyst layer. © 2013 IEEE.