Anode flooding is a critical issue in proton exchange membrane (PEM)-based electrochemical hydrogen pumps. Water-proofing the gas diffusion layer (GDL) on the anode side is a highly effective approach to mitigate the flooding problem and to enhance hydrogen pump performance. In this study, we report a low-cost, wet chemical process for water-proofing a metallic GDL. Silver particles, used as roughening and bonding agents, were first deposited on the porous metallic gas diffusion medium, and then heptadecafluoro-1-decanethiol (HDFT) was applied as a hydrophobic surface modifier. The result was a super-hydrophobic porous metallic GDL. Real electrochemical pump cell tests under simulated flooding conditions revealed that the water management performance of the coated GDL was dramatically improved.

在基于质子交换膜（PEM）的电化学氢泵中，阳极溢流是一个关键问题。阳极侧的气体扩散层（GDL）防水是缓解溢流问题和增强氢气泵性能的高效方法。在这项研究中，我们报告了一种用于金属GDL防水的低成本湿化学工艺。首先，将用作粗糙化剂和粘合剂的银颗粒沉积在多孔金属气体扩散介质上，然后将七氟-1-癸硫醇（HDFT）用作疏水性表面改性剂。结果是超疏水的多孔金属GDL。在模拟驱油条件下进行的实际电化学泵浦电池测试表明，涂层GDL的水管理性能得到了显着改善。