The oxygen starvation was investigated in a single-serpentine proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) at low oxygen concentrations of 3, 5, and 10% in air. At the voltage lower than 0.6 V, the cell performance abruptly decreased at all oxygen concentrations, but most significantly at 3%. To investigate the processes of the oxygen starvation, the oxygen partial pressure (p(O₂)) on the gas diffusion layer (GDL) at low oxygen concentrations (Φ(O₂)) of 3, 5, and 10% in air was visualized at the cathode in a running single-serpentine PEMFC by using an oxygen-sensitive dye coated on the GDL. p(O₂) continuously lowered in the operating fuel cell along the gas flow channel. At Φ(O₂) = 3 and 5% and at oxygen utilizations higher than 90%, p(O₂) on the GDL became 0 kPa and susceptible to degradation. The evolution of hydrogen at the cathode was proposed, which might have chemically consumed oxygen near the outlet. Also in a stack, the influence of this hydrogen evolution prior to the hydrogen pumping must be considered.

在单蛇形质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC）中，在空气中3、5和10％的低氧浓度下研究了缺氧情况。在低于0.6 V的电压下，在所有氧气浓度下，电池性能都会突然下降，但最显着的是3％。为了研究缺氧的过程，在空气中的低氧浓度（Φ（O ₂））为3％，5％和10％的情况下，气体扩散层（GDL）上的氧分压（p（O ₂））为通过使用涂在GDL上的对氧敏感的染料，可以在运行中的单蛇形PEMFC的阴极上看到图像。在运行的燃料电池中，p（O ₂）沿着气流通道连续降低。在Φ（O ₂）= 3和5％，在氧气利用率高于90％时，GDL上的p（O ₂）变为0 kPa，易于降解。有人提出在阴极放出氢气，可能在出口附近化学消耗了氧气。同样在烟囱中，必须考虑在抽氢之前这种析氢的影响。