Effect of hydrogen partial pressure on a polymer electrolyte fuel cell performance

摘要

We first investigated the effect of partial pressure of hydrogen (H_2) on the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) by controlling the ratio of hydrogen and nitrogen (N_2). The cell performance with Pt/C anode was significantly decreased with reduction of the partial pressure of H_2 in the presence of carbon monoxide (CO), while the performance variation was negligible in the absence of CO. Severe CO poisoning on Pt/C electrode at low partial pressure of H_2 might be attributed to the hindering effect by N_2 and CO. On the other hand, PtRu/C anode showed consistent power performance even at low partial pressure of H_2.