Proton exchange membrane fuel cell degradation under close to open-circuit conditions: Part I: In situ diagnosis

Durability of polymer exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells under a wide range of operational conditions has been generally identified as one of the top technical gaps that need to be overcome for the acceptance of this fuel cell technology as a commercially viable power source, especially for automotive and portable applications. In this study, a 1200 h lifetime test was conducted with a six-cell PEM fuel cell stack under close to open-circuit conditions. In situ measurements of the hydrogen crossover rate through the membrane, high frequency resistance and electrochemically active surface area of each single cell, in combination with cell polarization curves, were used to investigate the degradation mechanisms. Direct gas mass spectrometry of the cathode exhaust gas indicated the formation of HF, H₂O₂ and CO₂ during the durability testing. The overall cell degradation rate under this accelerated stress testing is approximately 0.128 mV h⁻¹. The cell degradation rate for the first 800 h is much lower than that after 800 h, which may result from the dominance of different degradation mechanisms. For the first period, the degradation of fuel cell performance was mainly attributed to catalyst decay, while the subsequent dramatic degradation is likely caused by membrane failure.