Understanding the Role of Interfaces for Water Management in Platinum Group Metal-Free Electrodes in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Abstract
For this study, a systematic analysis, both experimental and model-assisted, has been performed over three main configurations of platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) electrodes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs): Catalyst-coated membrane CCM technology is being compared to the gas-diffusion electrode (GDE) method of electrode fabrication and juxtaposed to a hybrid/combined GDE-CCM method of membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication. The corresponding electrodes were evaluated for their electrochemical performance, modeled, and studied with in situ and operando X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). The study establishes that through-thickness inhomogeneities play the most important role in water withdrawal/water management and affect most significantly PGM-free PEFC performance. The catalyst integration technique results in formation of interfacial regions with increased porosity and surface roughness. These regions form critical interfaces de facto responsible for flooding type behavior of the PEFC as shown for a first time by operando X-ray CT. The computational model shows that the PEFC performance critically depends on liquid water formation and transport at cold and wet conditions.
- Authors:
-
[4];
[2];
[2]
- Tufts Univ., Medford, MA (United States); Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
- Univ. of California, Irvine, CA (United States)
- Tufts Univ., Medford, MA (United States)
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1656515
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-05CH11231; 1605159
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- ACS Applied Energy Materials
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 2; Journal Issue: 5; Journal ID: ISSN 2574-0962
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 25 ENERGY STORAGE; platinum group metal-free catalyst layers; gas-diffusion electrodes; catalysts-coated membranes; hybrid membrane-electrode assembly; in situ and operando X-ray CT; water management; continuous modeling
Citation Formats
Liu, Jiangjin, Talarposhti, Morteza Rezaei, Asset, Tristan, Sabarirajan, Dinesh C., Parkinson, Dilworth Y., Atanassov, Plamen, and Zenyuk, Iryna V. Understanding the Role of Interfaces for Water Management in Platinum Group Metal-Free Electrodes in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1021/acsaem.9b00292.
Liu, Jiangjin, Talarposhti, Morteza Rezaei, Asset, Tristan, Sabarirajan, Dinesh C., Parkinson, Dilworth Y., Atanassov, Plamen, & Zenyuk, Iryna V. Understanding the Role of Interfaces for Water Management in Platinum Group Metal-Free Electrodes in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells. United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.9b00292
Liu, Jiangjin, Talarposhti, Morteza Rezaei, Asset, Tristan, Sabarirajan, Dinesh C., Parkinson, Dilworth Y., Atanassov, Plamen, and Zenyuk, Iryna V. Tue .
"Understanding the Role of Interfaces for Water Management in Platinum Group Metal-Free Electrodes in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells". United States. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.9b00292. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1656515.
@article{osti_1656515,
title = {Understanding the Role of Interfaces for Water Management in Platinum Group Metal-Free Electrodes in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells},
author = {Liu, Jiangjin and Talarposhti, Morteza Rezaei and Asset, Tristan and Sabarirajan, Dinesh C. and Parkinson, Dilworth Y. and Atanassov, Plamen and Zenyuk, Iryna V.},
abstractNote = {For this study, a systematic analysis, both experimental and model-assisted, has been performed over three main configurations of platinum group metal-free (PGM-free) electrodes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs): Catalyst-coated membrane CCM technology is being compared to the gas-diffusion electrode (GDE) method of electrode fabrication and juxtaposed to a hybrid/combined GDE-CCM method of membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication. The corresponding electrodes were evaluated for their electrochemical performance, modeled, and studied with in situ and operando X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT). The study establishes that through-thickness inhomogeneities play the most important role in water withdrawal/water management and affect most significantly PGM-free PEFC performance. The catalyst integration technique results in formation of interfacial regions with increased porosity and surface roughness. These regions form critical interfaces de facto responsible for flooding type behavior of the PEFC as shown for a first time by operando X-ray CT. The computational model shows that the PEFC performance critically depends on liquid water formation and transport at cold and wet conditions.},
doi = {10.1021/acsaem.9b00292},
journal = {ACS Applied Energy Materials},
number = 5,
volume = 2,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2019},
month = {Tue Apr 16 00:00:00 EDT 2019}
}
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Works referencing / citing this record:
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