@article{30577,
  keywords = {Modeling, Carbon dioxide, Fuel cell, Water management, AEMFC, Alkaline, Hydroxide},
  author = {Huai-Suen Shiau and Iryna V Zenyuk and Adam Z Weber},
  title = {Elucidating Performance Limitations in Alkaline-Exchange- Membrane Fuel Cells},
  abstract = {<p>Water management is a serious concern for alkaline-exchange-membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) because water is a reactant in the alkaline oxygen-reduction reaction and hydroxide conduction in alkaline-exchange membranes is highly hydration dependent. In this paper, we develop and use a multiphysics, multiphase model to explore water management in AEMFCs. We demonstrate that the low performance is mostly caused by extremely non-uniform distribution of water in the ionomer phase. A sensitivity analysis of design parameters including humidification strategies, membrane properties, and water transport resistance was undertaken to explore possible optimization strategies. Furthermore, the strategy and issues of reducing bicarbonate/carbonate buildup in the membrane-electrode assembly with CO<sub>2</sub> from air is demonstrated based on the model prediction. Overall, mathematical modeling is used to explore trends and strategies to overcome performance bottlenecks and help enable AEMFC commercialization.</p>},
  year = {2017},
  journal = {Journal of The Electrochemical Society},
  volume = {164},
  pages = {E3583 - E3591},
  month = {07/2017},
  issn = {0013-4651},
  doi = {10.1149/2.0531711jes},
  language = {eng},
}