ABSTRACT
Fuel cells are direct electrochemical energy conversion devices with high energy efficiency, by electrochemical combustion without any pollutants. They are classified into various types depending on the temperature of operation, electrolyte etc., Porous carbon materials play a significant role in fuel cell applications especially for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, alkaline fuel cells and phosphoric acid fuel cells, for use in bipolar plates, catalyst supports and for microporous layers for the flow of reactants and products. The properties of carbon with respect to the components play a major role for getting the optimized electrochemical reactions without carbon corrosion. This chapter discusses in detail the role of carbon materials for all the fuel cell components along with its properties.
