Development of low temperature fuel cell holders for Operando x-ray micro and nano computed tomography to visualize water distribution

Kulkarni, Devashish; Normile, Stanley J.; Connolly, Liam G.; Zenyuk, Iryna V.

doi:10.1088/2515-7655/abb783

Title: Development of low temperature fuel cell holders for Operando x-ray micro and nano computed tomography to visualize water distribution

Journal Article · 06 October 2020 · JPhys Energy

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7655/abb783 · OSTI ID:1670807

Kulkarni, Devashish; Normile, Stanley J.; Connolly, Liam G.;

Abstract Synchrotron x-ray imaging techniques, like x-ray computed tomography (CT) and radiography have proven instrumental in expanding the communities knowledge of complex transport and reaction kinetics in electrochemical devices such as fuel cells and electrolyzers. This work presents the development of novel x-ray CT imaging techniques for operando visualization of water within low temperature fuel cells at spatial resolutions spanning the micro and nano scales. The design of operando sample holders, for both micro x-ray CT and nano CT experiments is described in depth, and prototypes of these sample holders were evaluated across a set of requirements, the most important of which are x-ray transmissibility, electrical conductivity and mechanical stability. Water segmentation from micro x-ray CT data was enabled by an image subtraction method, where the image without water is subtracted from the one with water. Through iterative experimentations, the operando nano CT cell was developed to optimize mechanical compression, electric conductivity and gas flow. While three-dimensional fuel cell reconstructions were shown possible, there remain challenges to overcome at typical lower energies (8 keV) due to beam damage, whereas it is not as significant for higher energies (>17.5 keV).

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Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0007270

OSTI ID:: 1670807

Journal Information:: JPhys Energy, Journal Name: JPhys Energy Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 2; ISSN 2515-7655

Publisher:: IOP PublishingCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United Kingdom

Language:: English

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