Manufacture of a polymer-based carbon nanocomposite as bipolar plate of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The aim of this paper is to prepare a polymer-based carbon nanocomposite reinforced by carbon fiber cloth (CF) to be utilized as bipolar plate of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. For this purpose, some single, double, and triple-filler composites were manufactured by using phenolic resin as polymer (P) and graphite (G), carbon fiber (CF) and expanded graphite (EG) as fillers. The production method was compression-molding technique. The electrical conductivity, flexural strength, toughness, hardness, porosity, and hydrogen permeability tests were then measured to determine the mechanical and physical properties. A triple-filler composite containing 45 wt.% G, 10 wt.% CF, 5 wt.% EG, reinforced by a layer of CF cloth, was selected as composite bipolar plate. The electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and flexural strength of this composite were 74 S/cm, 9.6 W/m K, and 74 MPa, respectively, which are higher than the specified value by department of energy in USA (DOE). The composite bipolar plate used in the single fuel cell assembly showed a maximum power density 810 mW/cm2. In this paper, a material selection was performed on the different materials of bipolar plates. It can be concluded that the composite bipolar plates are more suitable for high life time stationary applications.