Question

A 10 cm2 H2 PEMFC employs a Nafion® membrane with a conductivity of 0.10 -1 cm-1. For this fuel cell, the electronic resistance (Relec) has been determined to be 0.005 . Assuming the only other contribution to the cell resistance comes from the Nafion® membrane, determine the ohmic voltage loss (ohmic) for the fuel cell at a current density of 1 A/cm2 in the following cases: (i) the Nafion® membrane is 100 µm thick; (ii) the Nafion® membrane is 50 µm thick. Based on your calculations, should you use the thinner or thinker Nafion® membrane? Please provide a brief statement to support your answer.

Answer 1