Author: Chasen Tongsh (Tianjin University) - We propose an ultra-thin proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) structure, which innovatively employs a carbon nanofiber film (CNFF) combined with nickel metal foam deposited with a graphene layer to replace the traditional flow channel-rib flow field and gas diffusion layer (GDL). This design significantly enhances the volumetric power density of the fuel cell by approximately 111%. On this basis, we further investigate the influence of CNFF thickness on multiple performance parameters of the fuel cell and explore the optimal CNFF thickness. Additionally, it is found that the orientation-ordered carbon nanofiber film, prepared by increasing the rotation speed of the receiver, exerts a positive protective effect on the catalyst layer but simultaneously increases mass transfer losses. To address this issue, we further propose a gradient-ordered carbon nanofiber film structure, which effectively breaks through the aforementioned bottleneck. Consequently, the power density of the fuel cell is further improved by 10% without the use of a gas diffusion layer.
