Numerical Simulation of a PEM Fuel Cell: Electrochemical Double Layer Capacity

NICOLÁS FORTUNATO; FEDERICO NORES PONDAL; PABLO D. GIUNTA

Buenos Aires

Encuentro; 20th Topical Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry; 2017

In this work the surface charge of the cathode of a PEM fuel cell was calculated by means of a one-dimensional and stationary model based on first principles. It was found that,for an increasing current sweep,the surface electric charge raises, passes through a maximum and then decreases. This behavior is based on the increase of the capacity of the double electrochemical layer, due to the increasing adsorption of water dipoles on the catalytic surface that in turn raises the equivalent electrical permittivity of the medium.