Relief Zones Enhance the Durability of Ultrathin Membranes in Electrochemical Conversion Devices

Taylor, Audrey K.; McVeigh, Megan; Weiss, Catherine; Neyerlin, Kenneth C.

doi:10.1021/acsaem.5c03843

Title: Relief Zones Enhance the Durability of Ultrathin Membranes in Electrochemical Conversion Devices

Journal Article · Wed Feb 04 00:00:00 UTC 2026 · ACS Applied Energy Materials

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsaem.5c03843 · OSTI ID:3020759

^[1]; McVeigh, Megan ^[1];

^[2];

^[1]

National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), Golden, CO (United States)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

Premature failures in electrochemical conversion systems often result when membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) use ultrathin (≤15 μm-thick) polymer electrolyte membranes, susceptible to mechanical degradation from stress concentrations arising from device-level integration. Herein, relief zones were developed to mitigate mechanical degradation by alleviating excess and nonuniform compression across active areas. Relief zones, created through ablation of carbonaceous diffusion media, enable seamless adaptation across MEA dimensions without need for hardware modifications. Demonstrated using fuel cells as a case study, accelerated stress tests revealed a 6-fold lifetime improvement (∼1500 h) compared to conventional edge-protected MEAs, decoupling device-level engineering effects from material limitations.

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Research Organization:: Alliance for Energy Innovation, LLC, Golden, CO (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Office of Sustainable Transportation. Hydrogen Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC02-05CH11231; AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 3020759

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Energy Materials, Journal Name: ACS Applied Energy Materials Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 9; ISSN 2574-0962

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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Title: Relief Zones Enhance the Durability of Ultrathin Membranes in Electrochemical Conversion Devices

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