Selectively coated bipolar plates for water management and freeze start in PEM fuel cells

摘要

A flow field plate for fuel cell applications includes an electrically conductive plate having a first surface defining a plurality of channels. An active area section and an inactive area section characterize the flow field channels. A hydrophobic layer is disposed over at least a portion of the inactive area section while a hydrophilic layer is disposed over at least a portion of the active area section.

主权项

1. A flow field plate for fuel cell applications, the flow field plate comprising:
an electrically conductive plate having a first surface defining a plurality of channels, each channel having an active area section and a peripheral section, the active area section being configured to be placed at an interior section of a fuel cell at which electrochemical reactions are occurring characterized by presence of catalyst layers and the peripheral section being configured to be placed peripheral to active area section in a fuel cell characterized by absence of catalyst layers; a hydrophilic layer disposed only over a portion of the active area section; and a hydrophobic layer disposed only over a portion of the peripheral section.