Measurement of the current distribution in a direct methanol fuel cell—Confirmation of parallel galvanic and electrolytic operation within one cell

Current production in fuel cells is typically unequally distributed along the cell surface due to inhomogeneous concentration of reactants and temperature. The inhomogeneities in fuel cells can result in reduced output power and accelerated ageing. To quantify the inhomogeneities a measurement system has been developed which allows measuring the local distribution of current and temperature in hydrogen and direct methanol fuel cells. With this system we are able to directly observe the coexistence of galvanic and electrolytic domains in a single channel direct methanol fuel cell (the electrolytic domain is the domain where electrolysis occurs in contrast to the galvanic domain where the fuel cell process takes place). The measurement device also allows for the measurement locally resolved impedance spectra.