The Degradation Mitigation Effect of Cerium Oxide in Polymer Electrolyte Membranes in Extended Fuel Cell Durability Tests

Journal Article · Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 2013 · Journal of Power Sources

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.10.015· OSTI ID:1087460

Pearman, Benjamin P ^[1]; Mohajeri, Nahid ^[1]; Brooker, R. Paul ^[2]; Rodgers, Marianne ^[1]; Slattery, Darlene ^[2]; Hampton, Michael ^[3]; Cullen, David A ^[1]; Seal, Sudipta ^[4]

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1. ORNL
2. Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC)
3. University of Florida
4. University of Central Florida

In this work, two formulations of single-crystal cerium oxide nanoparticles of varying particle sizes were incorporated into perfluorosulfonic acid membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) and their ability to improve the in-situ membrane durability was studied by subjecting them to 94 and 500 hours open-circuit voltage hold accelerated durability tests . In the shorter test the open circuit voltage decay rate was reduced by half and the fluoride emission by at least one order of magnitude, though no effect on hydrogen crossover or performance of the baseline MEAs was measured. The presence of the additive increased the particle size but decreased the number of platinum catalyst particles that were deposited in the membrane. The main Pt band was found at the predicted location; however, the incorporation of ceria caused a broadening with particles reaching further into the membrane. In 500 h tests, ceria-containing MEAs demonstrated a seven-fold decrease in open-circuit voltage decay and three order of magnitude reduction in fluoride emission rates with unchanged performance and hydrogen crossover, remaining effectively pristine whilst the baseline MEA underwent catastrophic failure.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Shared Research Equipment Collaborative Research Center
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC)
• DOE Contract Number: DE-AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1087460
• Journal Information: Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 225; ISSN 0378-7753
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English