Performance Studies of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells with Different Flow Field Designs - Review.

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is majorly used for power generation without producing any emission. In PEMFC, the water generated in the cathode heavily affects the performance of fuel cell which needs better water management. The flow channel designs, dimensions, shape and size of the rib/channel, effective area of the flow channel and material properties are considered for better water management and performance enhancement of the PEMFC in addition to the inlet reactant's mass flow rate, flow directions, relative humidity, pressure and temperature. With the purpose of increasing the output energy of the fuel cell, many flow field designs are being developed continuously. In this paper, the performance of various conventional, modified, hybrid and new flow field designs of the PEMFC is studied in detail. Further the effects of channel tapering, channel bending, landing to channels width ratios, channel cross-sections and insertion of baffles/blockages/pin-fins/inserts are reviewed. The power density of the flow field designs, the physical parameters like active area, dimensions of channel/rib, number of channels; and the operating parameters like temperature and pressure are also tabulated.

Mechanochemical synthesis of chitosan submicron particles from the gladius of Todarodes pacificus.

The present work focused on the synthesis of ß-chitosan submicron particles (CSPs) from Todarodes pacificus using mechanochemical techniques. The gladius was submitted to a sequence of mechanical and chemical treatments to synthesize ß-chitin (CT), which was further deacetylated to form spherical chitosan submicron particles with an average diameter of ⩽100 nm. The surface morphology of ß-chitin and CSPs was observed using electron microscopy. The degree of deacetylation (DD%), evaluated from the absorbance peak of a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrum, was 80 ± 2.5%. Physicochemical characterization exhibited good crystallinity, positive zeta potential and low molecular weight, as well as reduced ash content and high water-binding capacity. CSPs exhibit significant antimicrobial properties toward all tested pathogenic bacterial and fungal microorganisms. Antioxidant analysis revealed high reducing power and excellent scavenging and chelating ability. Hence, CSPs synthesized from gladius of Todarodes pacificus using mechanochemical techniques are promising candidates for biomedical applications.