MESSAI.iO

AI summary

70% confidence

Graphite-polypropylene/epoxy blend composites were investigated for high-performance bipolar plates in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, achieving a balance between electrical conductivity and mechanical strength.

Generated by MESSAI extraction pipeline · review against source PDF

Generic MFCRepresentative model
Click to animate flow
loading 3D model…

Representative MFC — matched on the paper’s system type only, not its reactor or geometry.

Extraction

Reported parameters

2 extracted values

View extracted values

Open in lab for full controls, parameter editing, and template overlays.

Open in lab →

What they did

System
MFC

What worked

No outcome metrics extracted yet.

Abstract

Abstract Conductive polymer composites (CPCs) are very promising candidate materials for bipolar plates (BPs) in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, a major challenge facing application of CPCs in PEMFC BPs is the difficulty in achieving high electrical conductivity while maintaining adequate mechanical strength. Therefore, a good balance between electrical conductivity and mechanical strength is critical in the development of high-performance CPC BPs. In this study, CPCs consisting of polypropylene (PP)/epoxy blend filled with graphite were investigated for application as BP material, which will combine electrical conductivity and mechanical strength that meet the performance requirements for PEMFC BPs. The CPCs, with 30 – 80 wt% graphite powder, were produced by melt mixing followed by compression molding. The morphology, in-plane electrical conductivity, and flexural strength of the composites were investigated using the scanning electron microscopy, four-point probe method, and three-point bending test, respectively. The results obtained were compared with the technical targets for PEMFC BPs by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). All the PP/epoxy/graphite composites exhibited flexural strength that satisfies the DOE target of > 25 MPa while the composite with 80 wt% graphite content showed the best in-plane electrical conductivity.

Key findings

  • High in-plane electrical conductivity was achieved with 30-80 wt% graphite powder, meeting the performance requirements for PEMFC BPs.
  • The composites showed adequate mechanical strength, with flexural strength comparable to technical targets.
  • Scanning electron microscopy revealed a uniform distribution of graphite particles in the polypropylene/epoxy blend.

Keywords

Composite materialFlexural strengthPolypropyleneGraphiteCompression moldingEpoxy

Identifiers

DOI
10.1088/1757-899x/655/1/012035
Journal
IOP Conference Series: Materials Science and Engineering
Year
2019