OS1602 Study on degradation of electrolyte membrane for PEFC
Details
Electrolyte membranes are chemically degraded by H_2O_2 which are created during operation of the polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC). In this study, the correlation between the mechanical properties and the chemical degradation of the electrolyte membrane for PEFC was investigated. In order to investigate the mechanical properties of these films, tensile test was carried out in ambient air. Also hardness test was carried out by the means of the nano-indenter at the surface and/or cross section of membrane. As a result, the tensile properties decreased, and also hardness increased as exposure time increased. This result means that the mechanical properties and the chemical degradation are high correlative. Therefore the chemical degradation can be estimated by means of mechanical properties.
