Fuel Cells | Water Melting Process in Solid Polymer Membranes (DSC)
Solid polymer membrane fuel cells are used for various domestic, automotive, and mobile applications, due to their low operating temperature and high-generation capacity per unit volume. The smallest unit in a solid polymer membrane fuel cell is the cell, which comprises a fuel electrode (cathode), solid polymer membrane, and air electrode (anode). A large number of these cells form a stack.
The water melting process in solid polymer membranes with different water contents was measured by a DSC-60 Differential Scanning Calorimeter.
Fig. 1 shows the measurement results for the water melting process in solid polymer membranes containing different percentages of water.
No water melt peak was observed at the 6.7% water content. The -23.8 °C peak for the 8.5% water content polymer membrane can probably be attributed to the melting of water clusters in the membrane. At water contents of 12.6% and above, a two-stage peak is observed, which can be attributed to the melting of bound water clusters and free water. In addition, it is evident that the high-temperature peak associated with the free water increases as the water content increases.
![Water Melting Process in Solid Polymer Membranes (DSC)](https://www.shimadzu.com/an/sites/shimadzu.com.an/files/d7/ckeditor/an/industry/electronicselectronic/qn50420000001mm3-img/qn504200000027ly.jpg)
Photones generated at the fuel electrode pass through the solid polymer membrane and move to the air electrode.
![](https://www.shimadzu.com/an/sites/shimadzu.com.an/files/d7/ckeditor/an/industry/electronicselectronic/qn50420000001mm3-img/qn504200000027mp.jpg)
DSC-60 Differential Scanning Calorimeter
![DSC-60 Differential Scanning Calorimeter](https://www.shimadzu.com/an/sites/shimadzu.com.an/files/d7/ckeditor/an/industry/electronicselectronic/qn50420000001mm3-img/qn504200000027na.jpg)
A newly developed high-sensitivity detector doubles the previous peak heights. The 1 µW (RMS) max. noise level permits cooling measurements without the need for options. Automatic detector cleaning.