Carbon Electrode From Carbonized Wood For Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell

Abstract

In this research, we studied the characteristics of the carbon electrode from carbonized wood and its influence on the performance of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC). The carbon electrodes were made by pulse current sintering 32-45 μm wood charcoal powder at 800, 1000 and 1200℃ under vacuum. The microstructures of carbon electrodes were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the electrical conductivity of carbon electrodes was measured at room temperature by a four-probe-method. The evaluation of the performance of current-voltage was conducted in a single cell of PEFC with carbon electrodes. The electric conductivity increased slightly with the sintering temperature. The current-voltage measurement provided an overall quantitative evaluation of the fuel cell power density. A maximum power density of 0.0079 W/cm² was obtained in the carbon electrode sintered at 800℃. It can be considered that the porous structure of carbon electrode affects the power density.