In the present study, vanadium oxide thin film resistors have been coated on the flat surface of metallic separators for cold start improvement of automotive fuel cell engines. The resistors have been fabricated to examine applicabilities as a source ...
In the present study, vanadium oxide thin film resistors have been coated on the flat surface of metallic separators for cold start improvement of automotive fuel cell engines. The resistors have been fabricated to examine applicabilities as a source of thaw heat in subfreezing environments. We have prepared samples by a vanadium-based sol-gel route in combination with a dip-coating process and then temperature-induced electrical properties of these films have been directly measured over the temperature range -20 ~ 80℃ using 4-point probes installed in a thermo-hygrostat. It was found that the maximum value of electrical resistance of the film resistor with 0.385㎛ average thickness was about 1.65Ω at -20℃ and the corresponding temperature rise was approximately 45℃. The results show that the vanadium-based thin film resistors on metallic separators can be applied to enhance cold star capability of fuel cell vehicles by minimizing the electrical energy consumed in thaw.