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Electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of exfoliated graphite/phenolic resin composite bipolar plate for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell
Author(s) -
Sykam Nagaraju,
Gautam Rajeev K.,
Kar Kamal K.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
polymer engineering and science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.503
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1548-2634
pISSN - 0032-3888
DOI - 10.1002/pen.23959
Subject(s) - materials science , composite material , graphite , compression molding , exfoliation joint , electrolyte , composite number , thermogravimetric analysis , thermal stability , polymer , scanning electron microscope , molding (decorative) , chemical engineering , electrode , graphene , nanotechnology , mold , chemistry , engineering
Exfoliated graphite (EG) was synthesized from natural flake graphite by acid treatment followed by microwave irradiation. A maximum expanded volume of 560 mL/g was achieved for this exfoliation of graphite. EG/phenolic resin composite bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell were fabricated with a high loading of EG by compression molding. The composites possess low density, high electrical conductivity, high thermal stability, and high compressive strength. The composite bipolar plates were also characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and so on. The composite prepared with 50 wt% of EG has shown the desired properties for bipolar plate as per the US Department of Energy (DOE‐2015) targets. As a result, the EG–resin composites can be used as bipolar plates for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell applications. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:917–923, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers