High-performance and cost-effective membrane electrode assemblies for advanced proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers: Long-term durability assessment

Mirshekari, Gholamreza; Ouimet, Ryan; Zeng, Zhiqiao; Yu, Haoran; Bliznakov, Stoyan; Bonville, Leonard J.; Niedzwiecki, Allison; Capuano, Chris; Ayers, Katherine; Maric, Radenka

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.10.112

High-performance and cost-effective membrane electrode assemblies for advanced proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers: Long-term durability assessment

Journal Article · Wed Nov 04 00:00:00 EST 2020 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2020.10.112· OSTI ID:1817412

Mirshekari, Gholamreza ^[1]; Ouimet, Ryan ^[1]; Zeng, Zhiqiao ^[1]; ^[2]; ^[1]; Bonville, Leonard J. ^[1]; Niedzwiecki, Allison ^[3]; Capuano, Chris ^[3]; Ayers, Katherine ^[3]; Maric, Radenka ^[1]

Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)
Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Nel Hydrogen, Wallingford, CT (United States)

In this work, improved activity and durability performance of a two-cell (86 cm²) proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) stack is reported for the first time. Both membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) contain one order of magnitude lower platinum group metal (PGM) loadings compared to the state-of-the-art PEMWEs and incorporate novel Pt recombination layers. The high-performance and cost-effective MEAs are fabricated by the unique reactive spray deposition technology (RSDT). This advanced methodology allows for one-step fabrication of MEAs and ensures precise control and distribution of the catalyst composition and loading. The RSDT-fabricated MEAs contain only 0.2 and 0.3 mg_PGM cm^–2 loading in the cathode and anode electrodes, respectively, and demonstrate excellent activity and durability for over 3000 h of operation at industrially-relevant operating conditions without showing significant loss in performance. This novel work shows that a significant cost reduction for PEMWEs is achieved while maintaining excellent durability, high catalysts activities, and low hydrogen cross-over.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE; USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-00OR22725; EE0008427

OSTI ID:: 1817412

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 2325412
OSTI ID: 1817677

Journal Information:: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal Name: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 46; ISSN 0360-3199

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (48)

Nanosized IrO _x -Ir Catalyst with Relevant Activity for Anodes of Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis Produced by a Cost-Effective Procedure Lettenmeier, Philipp; Wang, Li; Golla-Schindler, Ute Angewandte Chemie International Edition, Vol. 55, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.201507626	journal	November 2015
Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis: status of technologies and potential applications in combination with renewable power sources Aricò, A. S.; Siracusano, S.; Briguglio, N. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry, Vol. 43, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0490-5	journal	October 2012
Supported and unsupported platinum catalysts prepared by a one-step dry deposition method and their oxygen reduction reactivity in acidic media Roller, Justin; Neagu, Roberto; Orfino, Frank Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 47, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-012-6324-3	journal	February 2012
A study on the effect of selected process parameters in a jet diffusion flame for Pt nanoparticle formation Roller, Justin M.; Kim, Siwon; Kwak, Tony Journal of Materials Science, Vol. 52, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1101-y	journal	April 2017
Flame-Based Technologies and Reactive Spray Deposition Technology for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells: Technical and Economic Aspects Maric, Radenka; Roller, Justin; Neagu, Roberto Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, Vol. 20, Issue 4, p. 696-718 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-011-9645-x	journal	April 2011
A Study on Reactive Spray Deposition Technology Processing Parameters in the Context of Pt Nanoparticle Formation Roller, Justin M.; Maric, Radenka Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, Vol. 24, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11666-015-0322-3	journal	October 2015
Influence of iridium oxide loadings on the performance of PEM water electrolysis cells: Part II – Advanced oxygen electrodes Rozain, Caroline; Mayousse, Eric; Guillet, Nicolas Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 182 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2015.09.011	journal	March 2016
Nano-size IrOx catalyst of high activity and stability in PEM water electrolyzer with ultra-low iridium loading Yu, Haoran; Danilovic, Nemanja; Wang, Yang Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 239 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.07.064	journal	December 2018
Flammability reduction in a pressurised water electrolyser based on a thin polymer electrolyte membrane through a Pt-alloy catalytic approach Briguglio, Nicola; Siracusano, Stefania; Bonura, Giuseppe Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 246 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2018.12.079	journal	June 2019
Microscopic insights on the degradation of a PEM water electrolyzer with ultra-low catalyst loading Yu, Haoran; Bonville, Leonard; Jankovic, Jasna Applied Catalysis B: Environmental, Vol. 260 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apcatb.2019.118194	journal	January 2020
A comprehensive review of carbon and hydrocarbon assisted water electrolysis for hydrogen production Ju, HyungKuk; Badwal, Sukhvinder; Giddey, Sarbjit Applied Energy, Vol. 231 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.09.125	journal	December 2018
Pathways to ultra-low platinum group metal catalyst loading in proton exchange membrane electrolyzers Ayers, Katherine E.; Renner, Julie N.; Danilovic, Nemanja Catalysis Today, Vol. 262 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cattod.2015.10.019	journal	March 2016
Electrocatalysis in water electrolysis with solid polymer electrolyte Rasten, Egil; Hagen, Georg; Tunold, Reidar Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 48, Issue 25-26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2003.04.001	journal	November 2003
Sputtered iridium oxide films as electrocatalysts for water splitting via PEM electrolysis Slavcheva, E.; Radev, I.; Bliznakov, S. Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 52, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2006.11.005	journal	March 2007
Study of IrxRu1−xO2 oxides as anodic electrocatalysts for solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis Cheng, Jinbin; Zhang, Huamin; Chen, Guobao Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 54, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2009.05.090	journal	November 2009
Durable Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Systems Operating at High Current Densities Lettenmeier, P.; Wang, R.; Abouatallah, R. Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 210 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2016.04.164	journal	August 2016
Strategies to mitigate Pt dissolution in low Pt loading proton exchange membrane fuel cell: II. A gradient Pt loading design Yu, Haoran; Baricci, Andrea; Casalegno, Andrea Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 247 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.06.145	journal	September 2017
Strategies to mitigate Pt dissolution in low Pt loading proton exchange membrane fuel cell: I. A gradient Pt particle size design Yu, Haoran; Baricci, Andrea; Bisello, Andrea Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 247 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2017.07.093	journal	September 2017
Safety-related studies on hydrogen production in high-pressure electrolysers Janssen, H. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 29, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2003.08.014	journal	July 2004
Pure hydrogen production by PEM electrolysis for hydrogen energy Grigoriev, S.; Porembsky, V.; Fateev, V. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 31, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2005.04.038	journal	February 2006
Hydrogen safety aspects related to high-pressure polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis Grigoriev, S. A.; Millet, P.; Korobtsev, S. V. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 34, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.01.047	journal	July 2009
PEM water electrolyzers: From electrocatalysis to stack development Millet, P.; Ngameni, R.; Grigoriev, S. A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 35, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.09.015	journal	May 2010
Electrochemical performances of PEM water electrolysis cells and perspectives Millet, P.; Mbemba, N.; Grigoriev, S. A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 36, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.06.105	journal	March 2011
Evaluation of tungsten carbide as the electrocatalyst support for platinum hydrogen evolution/oxidation catalysts Liu, Ying; Mustain, William E. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 37, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2012.03.044	journal	June 2012
A comprehensive review on PEM water electrolysis Carmo, Marcelo; Fritz, David L.; Mergel, Jürgen International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 12, p. 4901-4934 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.01.151	journal	April 2013
Membrane electrode assemblies with low noble metal loadings for hydrogen production from solid polymer electrolyte water electrolysis Su, Huaneng; Linkov, Vladimir; Bladergroen, Bernard Jan International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 38, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2013.05.099	journal	August 2013
Failure of PEM water electrolysis cells: Case study involving anode dissolution and membrane thinning Grigoriev, S. A.; Dzhus, K. A.; Bessarabov, D. G. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 39, Issue 35 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2014.05.043	journal	December 2014
Mathematical modeling and experimental study of the performance of PEM water electrolysis cell with different loadings of platinum metals in electrocatalytic layers Grigoriev, S. A.; Kalinnikov, A. A. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 42, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2016.09.058	journal	January 2017
PEM water electrolysis: Innovative approaches towards catalyst separation, recovery and recycling Carmo, Marcelo; Keeley, Gareth P.; Holtz, Daniel International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 44, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.12.030	journal	February 2019
Oxygen evolution activity and stability of iridium in acidic media. Part 2. – Electrochemically grown hydrous iridium oxide Cherevko, Serhiy; Geiger, Simon; Kasian, Olga Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Vol. 774 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2016.05.015	journal	August 2016
A comparative study on catalytic activity and stability of TiO2, TiN, and TiC supported Pt electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cells environment Mirshekari, G. R.; Shirvanian, A. P. Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Vol. 840 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2019.03.077	journal	May 2019
Carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles as catalysts for proton exchange membrane fuel cells Liu, Zhaolin; Gan, Leong Ming; Hong, Liang Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 139, Issue 1-2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2004.07.012	journal	January 2005
Evaluation of carbon-supported Pt and Pd nanoparticles for the hydrogen evolution reaction in PEM water electrolysers Grigoriev, S. A.; Millet, P.; Fateev, V. N. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 177, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.11.072	journal	March 2008
Flame-based processing as a practical approach for manufacturing hydrogen evolution electrodes Roller, Justin; Renner, Julie; Yu, Haoran Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 271 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.08.013	journal	December 2014
Influence of the ionomer/carbon ratio for low-Pt loading catalyst layer prepared by reactive spray deposition technology Yu, Haoran; Roller, Justin M.; Mustain, William E. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 283 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.02.101	journal	June 2015
An analysis of degradation phenomena in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis Rakousky, Christoph; Reimer, Uwe; Wippermann, Klaus Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 326 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.06.082	journal	September 2016
Hydrogen production from renewable and sustainable energy resources: Promising green energy carrier for clean development Hosseini, Seyed Ehsan; Wahid, Mazlan Abdul Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 57 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.12.112	journal	May 2016
Current status of water electrolysis for energy storage, grid balancing and sector coupling via power-to-gas and power-to-liquids: A review Buttler, Alexander; Spliethoff, Hartmut Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Vol. 82 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2017.09.003	journal	February 2018
Gas phase deposition of diffusion barriers for metal substrates in solid oxide fuel cells Nédélec, R.; Neagu, R.; Uhlenbruck, S. Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 205, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surfcoat.2011.02.021	journal	May 2011
Experimental Methods for Quantifying the Activity of Platinum Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction Garsany, Yannick; Baturina, Olga A.; Swider-Lyons, Karen E. Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 82, Issue 15 https://doi.org/10.1021/ac100306c	journal	August 2010
Iridium Oxide for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Correlation between Particle Size, Morphology, and the Surface Hydroxo Layer from Operando XAS Abbott, Daniel F.; Lebedev, Dmitry; Waltar, Kay Chemistry of Materials, Vol. 28, Issue 18 https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.6b02625	journal	September 2016
Perspectives on Low-Temperature Electrolysis and Potential for Renewable Hydrogen at Scale Ayers, Katherine; Danilovic, Nemanja; Ouimet, Ryan Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vol. 10, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-060718-030241	journal	June 2019
Activity of Pt-Sn Catalyst Prepared by Reactive Spray Deposition Technology for Ethanol Electro-oxidation Fatih, Khalid; Neagu, Roberto; Alazate, Vanesa ECS Transactions, Vol. 25, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3210672	journal	September 2009
Research Advances towards Low Cost, High Efficiency PEM Electrolysis Ayers, Katherine E.; Anderson, Everett B.; Capuano, Christopher 218th ECS Meeting, ECS Transactions https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3484496	conference	January 2010
Initial Performance and Durability of Ultra-Low Loaded NSTF Electrodes for PEM Electrolyzers Debe, M. K.; Hendricks, S. M.; Vernstrom, G. D. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 159, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.065206jes	journal	January 2012
Oxygen Evolution during Water Electrolysis from Thin Films Using Bimetallic Oxides of Ir-Pt and Ir-Ru Roller, Justin M.; Josefina Arellano-Jiménez, M.; Jain, Rishabh Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 160, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.121306jes	journal	January 2013
Membrane Interlayer with Pt Recombination Particles for Reduction of the Anodic Hydrogen Content in PEM Water Electrolysis Klose, C.; Trinke, P.; Böhm, T. Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 165, Issue 16 https://doi.org/10.1149/2.1241814jes	journal	January 2018
Hydrogen production by alkaline water electrolysis Santos, Diogo M. F.; Sequeira, César A. C.; Figueiredo, José L. Química Nova, Vol. 36, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1590/S0100-40422013000800017	journal	January 2013

Similar Records

Degradation Mechanisms in Advanced MEAs for PEM Water Electrolyzers Fabricated by Reactive Spray Deposition Technology

Journal Article · Mon May 30 20:00:00 EDT 2022 · Journal of the Electrochemical Society · OSTI ID:1871079

Related Subjects

Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer
08 HYDROGEN
High durability
High-performance
Low-loaded membrane electrode assembly
Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer
Reactive spray deposition technology
Reactive spray deposition technology.

High-performance and cost-effective membrane electrode assemblies for advanced proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers: Long-term durability assessment

Citation Formats

References (48)

Similar Records

Related Subjects