Impact of Microporous Layer on Heat and Mass Transfer in a Single Cell of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Using a Thin Polymer Electrolyte Membrane and a Thin Gas Diffusion Layer Operated at a High-Temperature Range

[Image: see text] The impact of microporous layer (MPL) on the heat- and mass-transfer characteristics and power generation performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell using a thin polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) and a thin gas diffusion layer (GDL) is investigated in this paper. The power generation is investigated at the operational temperatures of 90 and 100 °C which are the target temperatures from year 2020 to 2025 according to the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s road map in Japan. The in-plane temperature distributions on the separator back at the anode and the cathode are also measured by a thermograph. As a result, it is found that the voltage drop with the MPL at a high current density is larger compared to that without the MPL irrespective of the initial temperature of the cell and relative humidity conditions. The study also revealed from the anode side observation that the in-plane temperature distribution with the MPL is wider compared to that without the MPL, especially at the initial temperature of 90 °C of the cell . Similarly, from the cathode side observation, the in-plane temperature distributions with the MPL were found to be wider compared to that without the MPL. This study has concluded that the MPL is not effective in obtaining a high performance and even an in-plane temperature distribution for a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with the thin PEM and the thin GDL at a high operational temperature range.