Investigating the durability of a direct methanol fuel cell equipped with commercial Platinum Group Metal-free cathodic electro-catalysts

Lo Vecchio, C.; Serov, A.; Dicome, Mikaela; Zulevi, Barr; Aricò, A. S.; Baglio, Vincenzo

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2021.139108

Title: Investigating the durability of a direct methanol fuel cell equipped with commercial Platinum Group Metal-free cathodic electro-catalysts

Journal Article · Wed Aug 18 00:00:00 EDT 2021 · Electrochimica Acta

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2021.139108· OSTI ID:1977072

Lo Vecchio, C. ^[1]; Serov, A. ^[2];

^[2];

^[2]; Aricò, A. S. ^[1];

^[1]

Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Messina (Italy). Istituto di Tecnologie Avanzate per l'Energia “Nicola Giordano” (ITAE)
Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

For the first time a long-term (500 h) durability study in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is carried out on a Platinum Group Metal-free (PGM-free) cathodic electro-catalyst commercially available on market. The electro-catalyst is tested for 500 h at a fixed cell voltage (0.3 V), recording the polarization curves during the operation. A drastic decrease in performance is observed after the first 100 h (from 220 to 75 mA cm^–2); afterwards, the decrease is flatter, passing from 75 to 25 mA cm^–2 (at 500 h). The causes of this performance degradation are investigated by postmortem physicochemical analyzes, such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with X-ray energy dispersive analysis (EDX). Finally, possible reasons of degradation are indicated to be PGM-free catalyst aggregation, carbon and nitrogen species decrease, Ruthenium dissolution and migration from the anode to the cathode, poisoning both membrane and cathode catalyst.

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Research Organization:: Pajarito Powder, LLC, Albuquerque, NM (United States)

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

Grant/Contract Number:: EE0008419

OSTI ID:: 1977072

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1817271

Journal Information:: Electrochimica Acta, Vol. 394, Issue C; ISSN 0013-4686

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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25 ENERGY STORAGE
Electrochemistry
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Title: Investigating the durability of a direct methanol fuel cell equipped with commercial Platinum Group Metal-free cathodic electro-catalysts

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