Influence of PEMFC degradation on its performance in different temperature and relative humidity conditions

The influence of parameters that cause the degradation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells on the performance is analyzed. The degradation phenomenon in various temperature and relative humidity is analyzed through polarization and cyclic voltammetry curves, the cell impedance and electrochemical surface area. After long-term operation, a performance degradation of up to 25.3 % and 75.71 % is observed when the operating temperature is 90 degrees C, and relative humidity is 10 %. When the operating temperature exceeds the favorable temperature (60-80 degrees C), the Nafion structure is destroyed, which promotes degradation owing to carbon corrosion and catalyst aggregation. The ion conductivity of membrane rapidly decreases, when the relative humidity is 10 %, and degradation is accelerated. The prediction model can identify conditions in which the most severe degradation occurs in different operational situations. This finding can facilitate the development of an effective degradation protocol for performance prediction based on the consideration of individual influencing factors.