Triode operation of CO poisoned PEM fuel cells: Fixed and cyclic potential triode operation

An alternative approach for enhancing the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) performance under CO poisoning conditions was investigated by the use of the recently developed triode fuel cell design and operation. In this mode of operation a third, auxiliary, electrode is introduced in addition to the anode and cathode electrodes. It is shown that the application of electrolytic potential between the cathode and an auxiliary electrode can affect the performance of the fuel cell circuit in a controllable and reversible manner. The applied electrolytic current or potential can be fixed (steady-state) or can be cycled between chosen limits. In the present study, both triode operation modes were investigated and it was found that the time-averaged power output of the fuel cell can be increased up to three times.