IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i5p998-d1342471.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A Review of Proton Exchange Membrane Degradation Pathways, Mechanisms, and Mitigation Strategies in a Fuel Cell

Author

Listed:
  • Dharmjeet Madhav

    (KU Leuven Bruges, Department of Materials Engineering, Surface and Interface Engineered Materials, 8200 Bruges, Belgium)

  • Junru Wang

    (KU Leuven Bruges, Department of Materials Engineering, Surface and Interface Engineered Materials, 8200 Bruges, Belgium)

  • Rajesh Keloth

    (Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA)

  • Jorben Mus

    (KU Leuven Bruges, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics and Energy Conversion, 8200 Bruges, Belgium)

  • Frank Buysschaert

    (KU Leuven Bruges, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Applied Mechanics and Energy Conversion, 8200 Bruges, Belgium)

  • Veerle Vandeginste

    (KU Leuven Bruges, Department of Materials Engineering, Surface and Interface Engineered Materials, 8200 Bruges, Belgium)

Abstract

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have the potential to tackle major challenges associated with fossil fuel-sourced energy consumption. Nafion, a perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membrane that has high proton conductivity and good chemical stability, is a standard proton exchange membrane (PEM) used in PEMFCs. However, PEM degradation is one of the significant issues in the long-term operation of PEMFCs. Membrane degradation can lead to a decrease in the performance and the lifespan of PEMFCs. The membrane can degrade through chemical, mechanical, and thermal pathways. This paper reviews the different causes of all three routes of PFSA degradation, underlying mechanisms, their effects, and mitigation strategies. A better understanding of different degradation pathways and mechanisms is valuable in producing robust fuel cell membranes. Hence, the progress in membrane fabrication for PEMFC application is also explored and summarized.

Suggested Citation

  • Dharmjeet Madhav & Junru Wang & Rajesh Keloth & Jorben Mus & Frank Buysschaert & Veerle Vandeginste, 2024. "A Review of Proton Exchange Membrane Degradation Pathways, Mechanisms, and Mitigation Strategies in a Fuel Cell," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-27, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:5:p:998-:d:1342471
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/998/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/5/998/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Qin & Zhang, Guobin & Zhang, Xuzhong & Sun, Cheng & Jiao, Kui & Wang, Yun, 2021. "Thermal management of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: A review of cooling methods, material properties, and durability," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 286(C).
    2. Jouin, Marine & Gouriveau, Rafael & Hissel, Daniel & Péra, Marie-Cécile & Zerhouni, Noureddine, 2016. "Degradations analysis and aging modeling for health assessment and prognostics of PEMFC," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 148(C), pages 78-95.
    3. Ding, Feng & Zou, Tingting & Wei, Tao & Chen, Lei & Qin, Xiaoping & Shao, Zhigang & Yang, Jianjun, 2023. "The pinhole effect on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) current density distribution and temperature distribution," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 342(C).
    4. George E. Halkos & Eleni-Christina Gkampoura, 2020. "Reviewing Usage, Potentials, and Limitations of Renewable Energy Sources," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, June.
    5. Dharmjeet Madhav & Changyuan Shao & Jorben Mus & Frank Buysschaert & Veerle Vandeginste, 2023. "The Effect of Salty Environments on the Degradation Behavior and Mechanical Properties of Nafion Membranes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-13, February.
    6. Qiu, Diankai & Peng, Linfa & Liang, Peng & Yi, Peiyun & Lai, Xinmin, 2018. "Mechanical degradation of proton exchange membrane along the MEA frame in proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PB), pages 210-222.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Huu Linh Nguyen & Jeasu Han & Xuan Linh Nguyen & Sangseok Yu & Young-Mo Goo & Duc Dung Le, 2021. "Review of the Durability of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell in Long-Term Operation: Main Influencing Parameters and Testing Protocols," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-34, July.
    2. Zhang, Caizhi & Zhang, Yuqi & Wang, Lei & Deng, Xiaozhi & Liu, Yang & Zhang, Jiujun, 2023. "A health management review of proton exchange membrane fuel cell for electric vehicles: Failure mechanisms, diagnosis techniques and mitigation measures," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 182(C).
    3. Song, Ke & Wang, Yimin & Ding, Yuhang & Xu, Hongjie & Mueller-Welt, Philip & Stuermlinger, Tobias & Bause, Katharina & Ehrmann, Christopher & Weinmann, Hannes W. & Schaefer, Jens & Fleischer, Juergen , 2022. "Assembly techniques for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack: A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    4. Cha, Dowon & Yang, Wonseok & Kim, Yongchan, 2019. "Performance improvement of self-humidifying PEM fuel cells using water injection at various start-up conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 514-524.
    5. Genel, Salih & Durak, Halil & Durak, Emre Demirer & Güneş, Hasret & Genel, Yaşar, 2023. "Hydrothermal liquefaction of biomass with molybdenum, aluminum, cobalt metal powder catalysts and evaluation of wastewater by fungus cultivation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 20-32.
    6. Yousefi Tehrani, Mehran & Mirfarsi, Seyed Hesam & Rowshanzamir, Soosan, 2022. "Mechanical stress and strain investigation of sulfonated Poly(ether ether ketone) proton exchange membrane in fuel cells: A numerical study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 182-200.
    7. Halkos, George & Managi, Shunsuke, 2023. "New developments in the disciplines of environmental and resource economics," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 513-522.
    8. Ahmed Mohmed Dafalla & Lin Wei & Bereket Tsegai Habte & Jian Guo & Fangming Jiang, 2022. "Membrane Electrode Assembly Degradation Modeling of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-26, December.
    9. Li, Xiang & Ding, Qian & Sun, Jian-Qiao, 2018. "Remaining useful life estimation in prognostics using deep convolution neural networks," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1-11.
    10. Ma, Yan & Hu, Fuyuan & Hu, Yunfeng, 2023. "Energy efficiency improvement of intelligent fuel cell/battery hybrid vehicles through an integrated management strategy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    11. Víctor Sanz i López & Ramon Costa-Castelló & Carles Batlle, 2022. "Literature Review of Energy Management in Combined Heat and Power Systems Based on High-Temperature Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells for Residential Comfort Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-22, September.
    12. Costa, Nahuel & Sánchez, Luciano, 2022. "Variational encoding approach for interpretable assessment of remaining useful life estimation," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    13. Chen, Kui & Badji, Abderrezak & Laghrouche, Salah & Djerdir, Abdesslem, 2022. "Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells degradation prediction using multi-kernel relevance vector regression and whale optimization algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 318(C).
    14. Chu, Tiankuo & Tang, Qianwen & Wang, Qinpu & Wang, Yanbo & Du, Hong & Guo, YuQing & Li, Bing & Yang, Daijun & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2023. "Experimental study on the effect of flow channel parameters on the durability of PEMFC stack and analysis of hydrogen crossover mechanism," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    15. Wadim Strielkowski & Irina Firsova & Inna Lukashenko & Jurgita Raudeliūnienė & Manuela Tvaronavičienė, 2021. "Effective Management of Energy Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of ICT Solutions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    16. Zhu, Li & Chen, Junghui, 2018. "Prognostics of PEM fuel cells based on Gaussian process state space models," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 63-73.
    17. Pan, Mingzhang & Pan, Chengjie & Li, Chao & Zhao, Jian, 2021. "A review of membranes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Transport phenomena, performance and durability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    18. Chen, Dongfang & Pei, Pucheng & Meng, Yining & Ren, Peng & Li, Yuehua & Wang, Mingkai & Wang, Xizhong, 2022. "Novel extraction method of working condition spectrum for the lifetime prediction and energy management strategy evaluation of automotive fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 255(C).
    19. Zhou, Qianling & Li, Tao & Gong, Liutang, 2022. "The effect of tax incentives on energy intensity: Evidence from China's VAT reform," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    20. Khorasgani, Hamed & Biswas, Gautam & Sankararaman, Shankar, 2016. "Methodologies for system-level remaining useful life prediction," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 8-18.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:5:p:998-:d:1342471. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.