Distribution of Relaxation Time Analysis of Cathode Micro-Patterned PEFC

Previous studies have shown that cathode micro-patterned polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) effectively improve its performance because of the increase in chemical reaction surface. However, the mechanism of performance improvement is still unclear. Patterning can decrease mass transport (especially gas transport) because the diffusion path increases. Distribution of relaxation time (DRT) analysis can deconvolute impedance spectra and investigate the dependency of polarization resistance on each physical phenomenon. We performed DRT analysis using a patterned PEFC and found that it behaved similar to a conventional flat PEFC. Further experiments can reveal the difference between patterned and conventional PEFCs and quantify the effect of patterning.