Citation: Xiaomin Meng, Chengxin Li, Runlin Fan, Junsheng Zheng, Pingwen Ming. Catalytic curing-driven ultrafast fabrication of high-density composite bipolar plates for PEMFCs[J]. Chinese Chemical Letters, ;2026, 37(9): 111480. doi: 10.1016/j.cclet.2025.111480 shu

Catalytic curing-driven ultrafast fabrication of high-density composite bipolar plates for PEMFCs

Xiaomin Meng ^{a, b} ,
Chengxin Li ^{a, b} ,
Runlin Fan ^{a, b} ,
Junsheng Zheng ^{a, b, *,} ,
Pingwen Ming ^{a, b}

a.
Clean Energy Automotive Engineering Center, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China
b.
School of Automotive Studies, Tongji University, Shanghai 201804, China

jszheng@tongji.edu.cn

Received Date: 9 April 2025
Revised Date: 14 June 2025
Accepted Date: 17 June 2025
Available Online: 17 June 2025

Figures(4)

Composite bipolar plates (CBPs) composed of resin and conductive fillers have the potential to combine excellent conductivity with superior mechanical properties, as key components in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, the industrial scalability is hindered by slow curing kinetics and trade-offs between conductivity and mechanical integrity. In this work, we propose a rapid compression molding strategy catalyzed by 2-methylimidazole (2MI), which utilizes the synergistic effect of tertiary amine catalysis and nucleophilic enhancement to reduce the energy barrier of epoxy ring opening, enabling the resin to achieve ultrafast curing. And with temperature and pressure regulation, CBPs achieve good contact between graphite particles and a dense structure, resulting in outstanding in-plane conductivity of 190 S/cm, flexural strength of 85 MPa, and hydrogen permeability below 1.5 × 10^–10 cm³/(cm² s). The work provides a paradigm for resin-curing synergy, bridging rapid processing with multifunctional performance, and advancing scalable PEMFC component manufacturing.
- Proton exchange membrane fuel cells,
- Composite bipolar plates,
- Electrical conductivity,
- Mechanical strength,
- Curing kinetics
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