Improve the comprehensive property of carbon paper for PEMFC by using a novel phenol formaldehyde resin modified with MXene

In this study, a novel method to enhance the comprehensive property of carbon paper (CP) by using phenol formaldehyde resin (PF) modified with MXene was investigated. The effects of different MXene modification ratios on the mechanical property, electrical resistivity, air permeability and electrochemical characterization of hot-pressed CP and CP were discussed. Compared to unmodified CP, the tensile strength and flexural strength of modified CP showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase of MXene modification ratio. 10 % MXene modified CP occurred the maximum tensile strength, flexural strength, and the lowest electrical resistivity, the best performance were 4.14 MPa, 62.64 MPa and 3.48 mΩ·cm, respectively. As the MXene modification ratio increased from 0 % to 10 %, the limiting current density of PEMFC was increased from 950 mA/cm² to 1457 mA/cm², and the limiting power density was increased from 295.2 mW/cm² to 468.7 mW/cm². However, as the MXene modification ratio continued to increase to 14 %, the limiting current density and power density of PEMFC were decreased to 1347.5 mA/cm² and 438.75 mW/cm² respectively. Therefore, the novel MXene modification method of CP provides new insights into enhancing the electrochemical characterization of PEMFC, potentially addressing issues related to low electrical resistivity and mechanical stability affecting PEMFC performance.