Abstract
Porous matrices for PAFC were prepared with chemically synthesized polyaniline powders. Phosphoric acid doped polyaniline showed decreasing electric conductivities as the temperature increased. Above $100^{\circ}C$, it showed negligible conductivities. It was stable in phosphoric acid up to $250^{\circ}C$. SiC powders or SiC whiskers were added to polyaniline to decrease the thermal expansion of polyaniline. 10% of polytetrafluoroethylene(PTFE) was also added as a binder. The bubble pressures and wettabilities of matrices were investigated and compared with the porosities measured by porosimeter. Based on these data, the optimum manufacturing condition was determined. The bubble pressure of the matrix made by adding 25w/o SiC whiskers was 345mmHg, the wettability was 235w/o, and the porosity was 83%. In the unit cell operation, the performances of polyaniline matrices were as good as those of SiC matrices. This result suggested that polyaniline can be a possible candidate for the matrix material of PAFC.