Effect of small-sized conductive filler on the properties of an epoxy composite for a bipolar plate in a PEMFC
Source abstract
Abstract
Abstract This paper focused on using a conductive polymer composite (CPC) as a potential replacement for the conventional graphite bipolar plate used in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). Based on the requirements established by the US Department of Energy (DOE), the in-plane electrical conductivity and flexural strength are required to be greater than 100 S/cm and 25 MPa, respectively. The high filler loading is needed to satisfy the high in-plane electrical conductivity. However, the high filler loading reduces the flexural strength and manufacturability of the composite. In this study, the composites were prepared by compounding using an internal mixer followed by compression moulding. The combination of 10 vol% carbon black (CB) as the second filler with synthetic graphite/epoxy (SG/EP) resulted in the following composite properties: 150 S/cm (in-plane conductivity), 55 S/cm (through-plane conductivity), and 38.8 MPa (flexural strength). Used as the second filler, the CB, which had a small-sized diameter, formed conductive networks that filled the voids between the SG and polymer matrix. The in-plane electrical conductivity and flexural strength of the CB/SG/EP composites at the optimum composition exceeded the requirement for bipolar plate applications.
Source: openaire · Quality: candidate unverified · Source record ↗
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Fuel Cells and Related Materials · Advanced Battery Technologies Research · Conducting polymers and applications
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
References (30)
Show source-provided references
1. Percolation threshold and morphology of composites of conducting carbon black/polypropylene/EVA10.1023/B:JMSC.0000016180.42896.0f ↗
2. Carbon black pastes as coatings for improving thermal gap-filling materials10.1016/j.carbon.2005.09.002 ↗
3. Sensors and actuators based on carbon nanotubes and their composites: a review10.1016/j.compscitech.2008.01.006 ↗
4. Aluminate cement/graphite conductive composite bipolar plate for proton exchange membrane fuel cells10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.01.082 ↗
5. High-temperature, polymer–graphite hybrid composites for bipolar plates: effect of processing conditions on electrical properties10.1016/j.jpowsour.2006.08.019 ↗
6. Property balancing for polyethylene-based carbon black-filled conductive composites10.1002/(SICI)1097-4628(19980103)67:1<131::AID-APP15>3.0.CO;2-4 ↗
7. Effect of different carbon fillers on the properties of graphite composite bipolar plate10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2007.10.044 ↗
8. Fabrication of high strength and a low weight composite bipolar plate for fuel cell applications10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.04.049 ↗
9. Electrically conductive thermoplastic blends for injection and compression molding of bipolar plates in the fuel cell application10.1002/pen.20177 ↗
10. Effect of carbon fillers on properties of polymer composite bipolar plates of fuel cells10.1016/j.jpowsour.2009.04.029 ↗
11. Properties of graphite-composite bipolar plate prepared by compression molding technique for PEM fuel cell10.1016/j.ijhydene.2007.02.017 ↗
12. Electrical properties of carbon nanotubes-based epoxy nanocomposites for high electrical conductive plate10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.264-265.559 ↗
13. Electrical properties of carbon-based polypropylene composites for bipolar plates in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC)10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.05.106 ↗
14. Injection moulded low cost bipolar plates for PEM fuel cells10.1016/j.jpowsour.2004.01.014 ↗
15. Evaluation of a compression molded composite bipolar plate for direct methanol fuel cell10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.02.004 ↗
16. Semi-empirical modeling of electrical conductivity for composite bipolar plate with multiple reinforcements10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.02.136 ↗
17. Carbon materials in composite bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: a review of the main challenges to improve electrical performance10.1016/j.jpowsour.2010.12.041 ↗
18. Enhanced electrical conductivity of nanocomposites containing hybrid fillers of carbon nanotubes and carbon black10.1021/am9000503 ↗
19. Morphological and structural characterization of polypropylene/conductive graphite nanocomposites10.1016/j.eurpolymj.2006.08.017 ↗
20. Effect of fabrication process on electrical properties of polymer/mwnt nanocomposite10.1016/j.compositesa.2008.01.002 ↗
21. Effect of filler loading concentration, curing temperature and molding pressure on the electrical conductivity of CNTs/graphite/epoxy nanocomposites at high loading of conductive fillers
22. Study on carbon nanotube reinforced phenol formaldehyde resin/graphite composite for bipolar plat10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.10.013 ↗
23. Formation of percolating networks in multi-wall carbon-nanotube–epoxy composites10.1016/j.compscitech.2004.01.025 ↗
24. Review and analysis of PEM fuel cell design and manufacturing10.1016/S0378-7753(02)00542-6 ↗
25. Void reduction in autoclave processing of thermoset composites: part 2: void reduction in a microwave curing process10.1016/0010-4361(92)90187-Y ↗
26. Effects of cure cycle pressure and voids on some mechanical properties of carbon/epoxy laminates10.1016/0010-4361(95)96808-J ↗
27. The effect of processing parameters on the flexural properties of unidirectional carbon fibre–reinforcement polymer (CFRP) composites10.1016/j.msea.2007.11.148 ↗
28. Influence of particle size and shape on electrical and mechanical properties of graphite reinforced conductive polymer composites for the bipolar plate of PEM fuel cell10.1163/156855106776829356 ↗
29. Effect of the compression molding parameters on the in-plane and through-plane conductivity of carbon nanotubes/graphite/epoxy nanocomposites as bipolar plate material for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell10.1016/j.ceramint.2012.07.059 ↗
30. Development of highly filled graphite compounds as bipolar plate materials for low and high temperature pem fuel cells