Preparation and Characterization of Ni/C Particles as Filler in Bipolar Plate for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The graphite-Ni/C particles are prepared by Closed-Low Oxygen Pyrolysis Method (CLOPM), in which the graphite particles are coated by colloid of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid (EDTA)-Ni (II) ligands that bound Ni. These graphite-Ni/C particles are dried, sized and compacted in a crucible and closed in low-oxygen state, then pyrolyzed at a temperature of 900^o C. Ni/C particles as precursors have been investigated separately by SEM/EDS, HR-TEM, FTIR, PSA, XRF and Raman spectroscopy. Ni/C particles are 9.6 nm in size and consist of 40.7% of Ni, 52.4% of NiO, and 6.8% of C. The electrical properties of graphite-Ni/C powder have been measured in a compacted solid state. The electrical conductivity of graphite material coated with 10% Ni/C is 7.64 S/cm, which means an increase of 84% over the electrical conductivity of pure graphite, 4.15 S/cm, which has been achieved. These graphite-Ni/C particles will be used as a filler in bipolar plates for PEM fuel cells.