Journal
SMALL
Volume 15, Issue 44, Pages -Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/smll.201903705
Keywords
gas barrier layer; gas crossover; hexagonal boron nitride; oxygen radicals; proton exchange membrane fuel cells
Categories
Funding
- National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) - Korea government (MSIT) [2017R1A2B2010663]
- Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP)
- Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy (MOTIE) of the Republic of Korea [20173010032100]
- National Research Foundation of Korea [2017R1A2B2010663] Funding Source: Korea Institute of Science & Technology Information (KISTI), National Science & Technology Information Service (NTIS)
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Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) has great potential as a promising gas barrier layer in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) as it shows high proton conductivity as well as excellent gas-blocking capability. However, structural defects and mechanical damage during the transfer of the hBN layer and membrane swelling have limited the application of hBN sheets to PEMFCs. Here, an ultrathin gas barrier layer is successfully fabricated on a proton exchange membrane via reconstruction of mechanically exfoliated hBN nanoflakes using a direct spin-coating process. The hBN-coated layer effectively suppresses the gas crossover and inhibits the formation of reactive oxygen radicals in the electrodes without reducing the proton conductivity of the membrane. It is also demonstrated that the structural advantages of hBN-coated gas barrier layers promise high performance of a unit cell even after a open-circuit voltage (OCV) hold test for 100 h. Furthermore, through in-depth postmortem analyses, a time-dependent degradation mechanism of membrane electrode assembly under the OCV condition is rationally proposed.
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