Impacts of electrode coating irregularities on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell lifetime using quasi in-situ infrared thermography and accelerated stress testing

Phillips, Adam; Ulsh, Michael; Neyerlin, K. C.; Porter, Jason; Bender, Guido

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.02.050

Title: Impacts of electrode coating irregularities on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell lifetime using quasi in-situ infrared thermography and accelerated stress testing

Journal Article · 01 March 2018 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2018.02.050 · OSTI ID:1426642

Phillips, Adam ^[1]; Ulsh, Michael ^[2]; Neyerlin, K. C. ^[2]; Porter, Jason ^[3]; Bender, Guido ^[2]

National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Colorado School of Mines, Golden, CO (United States)

In-line quality control diagnostics for roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing techniques will play a key role in the future commercialization of the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) used in automotive applications. These diagnostics monitor the fabrication of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA), which detect and flag any non-uniformity that may potentially harm PEMFC performance and/or lifetime. This will require quantitative thresholds and a clear distinction between harmful defects and harmless coating irregularities. Thus, novel fuel cell hardware with quasi in-situ infrared (IR) thermography capabilities is utilized to understand how bare spots in the cathode electrode impact MEA lifetime. An accelerated stress test (AST) simulates chemical and mechanical degradation modes seen in vehicular operation. The actual open circuit voltage and rate of change of this voltage are used as in-situ indicators for MEA failure, enabling capture of the progression of failure point development. Bare spot coating irregularities located at the center of the electrode were found to have no impact on MEA lifetime when compared to a pristine MEA. However, MEA lifetime was found to be considerably shortened when these same irregularities are located at the cathode inlet and, especially, the anode inlet regions of the fuel cell.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Program (EE-3F)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1426642

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1496283

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA--5900-70934

Journal Information:: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Journal Name: International Journal of Hydrogen Energy Journal Issue: 12 Vol. 43; ISSN 0360-3199

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

References (32)

Gas crossover and membrane degradation in polymer electrolyte fuel cells Inaba, Minoru; Kinumoto, Taro; Kiriake, Masayuki Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 51, Issue 26 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2006.03.008	journal	August 2006
Defect Detection in Fuel Cell Gas Diffusion Electrodes Using Infrared Thermography Ulsh, M.; Porter, J. M.; Bittinat, D. C. Fuel Cells, Vol. 16, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201500137	journal	March 2016
A review of PEM fuel cell durability: Degradation mechanisms and mitigation strategies Wu, Jinfeng; Yuan, Xiao Zi; Martin, Jonathan J. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 184, Issue 1, p. 104-119 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2008.06.006	journal	September 2008
A review of accelerated stress tests of MEA durability in PEM fuel cells Zhang, S.; Yuan, X.; Wang, H. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 34, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2008.10.012	journal	January 2009
The impact of channel path length on PEMFC flow-field design Shimpalee, S.; Greenway, S.; Van Zee, J. W. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 160, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2006.01.099	journal	September 2006
Understanding Membrane Failure in PEMFC: Comparison of Diagnostic Tools at Different Observation Scales De Moor, G.; Bas, C.; Charvin, N. Fuel Cells, Vol. 12, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201100161	journal	March 2012
The degradation mitigation effect of cerium oxide in polymer electrolyte membranes in extended fuel cell durability tests Pearman, Benjamin P.; Mohajeri, Nahid; Brooker, R. Paul Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 225 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.10.015	journal	March 2013
Scientific Aspects of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Durability and Degradation Borup, Rod; Meyers, Jeremy; Pivovar, Bryan Chemical Reviews, Vol. 107, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1021/cr050182l	journal	October 2007
Investigation of MEA degradation in PEM fuel cell by on/off cyclic operation under different humid conditions Seo, Dongho; Lee, Junghyun; Park, Sangsun International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 36, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.02.053	journal	January 2011
Understanding and approaches for the durability issues of Pt-based catalysts for PEM fuel cell Shao, Yuyan; Yin, Geping; Gao, Yunzhi Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 171, Issue 2, p. 558-566 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.07.004	journal	September 2007
Reactive impinging-flow technique for polymer-electrolyte-fuel-cell electrode-defect detection Zenyuk, Iryna V.; Englund, Nicholas; Bender, Guido Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 332 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2016.09.109	journal	November 2016
Applying infrared thermography as a quality-control tool for the rapid detection of polymer-electrolyte-membrane-fuel-cell catalyst-layer-thickness variations Aieta, Niccolo V.; Das, Prodip K.; Perdue, Andrew Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 211, p. 4-11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2012.02.030	journal	August 2012
500h Continuous aging life test on PBI/H3PO4 high-temperature PEMFC Hu, J.; Zhang, H.; Zhai, Y. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 31, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2006.05.001	journal	October 2006
Accelerated life-time test protocols for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells operated at high temperature Jeon, Yukwon; Na, Heeso; Hwang, Hyoungkwon International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.01.010	journal	February 2015
Morphological features (defects) in fuel cell membrane electrode assemblies Kundu, S.; Fowler, M. W.; Simon, L. C. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 157, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2005.12.027	journal	July 2006
Degradation analysis and modeling of reinforced catalyst coated membranes operated under OCV conditions Kundu, Sumit; Fowler, Michael W.; Simon, Leonardo C. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 183, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2008.05.074	journal	September 2008
Detecting and localizing failure points in proton exchange membrane fuel cells using IR thermography Bender, Guido; Felt, Wyatt; Ulsh, Michael Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 253 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.12.045	journal	May 2014
Determination of Catalyst Unique Parameters for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in a PEMFC Neyerlin, K. C.; Gu, Wenbin; Jorne, Jacob Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 153, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2266294	journal	January 2006
Accelerated Testing of Carbon Corrosion and Membrane Degradation in PEM Fuel Cells Mukundan, R.; James, G.; Ayotte, D. ECS Transactions, Vol. 50, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1149/05002.1003ecst	journal	March 2013
Comparison between two PEM fuel cell durability tests performed at constant current and under solicitations linked to transport mission profile Wahdame, B.; Candusso, D.; Francois, X. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 32, Issue 17 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2007.03.013	journal	December 2007
Membrane Degradation at Catalyst Layer Edges in PEMFC MEAs Sompalli, Bhaskar; Litteer, Brian A.; Gu, Wenbin Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Vol. 154, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2789791	journal	January 2007
A degradation study of Nafion proton exchange membrane of PEM fuel cells Tang, Haolin; Peikang, Shen; Jiang, San Ping Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 170, Issue 1, p. 85-92 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.03.061	journal	June 2007
Application of a thermally conductive pyrolytic graphite sheet to thermal management of a PEM fuel cell Wen, Chih-Yung; Huang, Guo-Wei Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 178, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2007.12.040	journal	March 2008
Phenomenon Analysis of PEFC for Automotive Use(1) Membrane Degradation Behavior During OCV Hold Test Ohma, Atsushi; Suga, Sohei; Yamamoto, Shinji ECS Transactions, Vol. 3, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1149/1.2356173	journal	October 2006
Aspects of the Chemical Degradation of PFSA Ionomers used in PEM Fuel Cells Healy, J.; Hayden, C.; Xie, T. Fuel Cells, Vol. 5, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.200400050	journal	April 2005
Accelerated Testing Validation Mukundan, Rangachary; James, Greg; Davey, John 220th ECS Meeting, ECS Transactions https://doi.org/10.1149/1.3635594	conference	January 2011
Review: Durability and Degradation Issues of PEM Fuel Cell Components de Bruijn, F. A.; Dam, V. A. T.; Janssen, G. J. M. Fuel Cells, Vol. 8, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.200700053	journal	February 2008
In Situ Quantification of Electronic Short Circuits in PEM Fuel Cell Stacks De Moor, G.; Charvin, N.; Bas, C. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics, Vol. 62, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1109/TIE.2015.2395390	journal	August 2015
Utilizing a Segmented Fuel Cell to Study the Effects of Electrode Coating Irregularities on PEM Fuel Cell Initial Performance Phillips, A.; Ulsh, M.; Porter, J. Fuel Cells, Vol. 17, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/fuce.201600214	journal	April 2017
Accelerated stress test procedures for PEM fuel cells under actual load constraints: State-of-art and proposals Petrone, R.; Hissel, D.; Péra, M. C. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 40, Issue 36 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2015.07.026	journal	September 2015
A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell durability test protocols Yuan, Xiao-Zi; Li, Hui; Zhang, Shengsheng Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 196, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.07.082	journal	November 2011
Characterization of MEA degradation for an open air cathode PEM fuel cell Silva, R. A.; Hashimoto, T.; Thompson, G. E. International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Vol. 37, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.12.110	journal	April 2012

Cited By (1)

In Situ and Operando Characterization of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells Meyer, Quentin; Zeng, Yachao; Zhao, Chuan Advanced Materials, Vol. 31, Issue 40 https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.201901900	journal	August 2019

Similar Records

Visualization, understanding, and mitigation of process-induced-membrane irregularities in gas diffusion electrode-based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Journal Article · 2021 · International Journal of Hydrogen Energy · OSTI ID:1769844

Wang, Min; Medina, Samantha; Ochoa-Lozano, Josias; +4 more

Influence of Coating Method on the Performance of Roll-to-Roll Coated PEM Fuel Cell Catalyst Layers

Conference · 2020 · OSTI ID:1670153

Mauger, Scott

Influence of Ink Formulation and Drying Conditions on Ionomer Distribution in High-Performance Roll-to-Roll-Coated Gas-Diffusion Electrodes

Conference · 2021 · OSTI ID:1823442

Mauger, Scott; Wang, Min; Neyerlin, K. C.; +10 more

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
coating irregularities
PEMFC
manufacturing
infrared thermography
accelerated stress test
defects

Title: Impacts of electrode coating irregularities on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell lifetime using quasi in-situ infrared thermography and accelerated stress testing

Citation Formats

References (32)

Cited By (1)

Similar Records

Related Subjects