Analysis of impedance with different discharge current in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

Considering the fact that proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell has different impedance performances under different discharge currents, a PEM fuel cell with single serpentine flow field was investigated with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and the R (QR) equivalent circuit was used to calculate the circuit element parameters. The experimental results show that water in the fuel cell increases from insufficient to sufficient and then excessive with the increasing discharge current. Accordingly, the electrochemical reaction rate on the electrodes increases first and then decreases, thus the charge transfer resistance decreases and then increases. The impedance of PEM fuel cell increases obviously for high discharge currents due to the accessional impedance produced by double-layer effect, while the impedance reaches minimum at medium discharge current (5 A).