Tomography based screening of flow field / current collector combinations for PEM water electrolysis

Based on the visualization technology, we investigated experimentally the effect of different flow patterns on anode fluid behaviors of the μDMFC (Micro Direct Methanol Fuel Cell) with a transparent material under the same condition. Stainless steel mesh was utilized as the current collector which was distinct from the carbon cloth or carbon paper. Four dissimilar flow patterns were developed and tested. The observation of the effect of different flow patterns revealed that movements of dilute methanol solutions and CO2 gas bubbles in the dot and parallel flow fields represented more difficult, which could result in a decline of the μDMFC performance. The study also showed that a channel blocking in the single-serpentine flow field would be extremely terrible which could lead to a fuels leaking of the μDMFC, meanwhile the liquid-gas flow was more fluent and stable in a double-serpentine flow field. Therefore, due to its advantages, a double-serpentine flow pattern is more suitable for the μDMFC application compared with the other flow patterns.

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Performance Optimization of μDMFC with Foamed Stainless Steel Cathode Current Collector

Energies ◽

10.3390/en14206608 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 (20) ◽

pp. 6608

Author(s):

Zhengang Zhao ◽

Fan Zhang ◽

Yanhui Zhang ◽

Dacheng Zhang

Keyword(s):

Stainless Steel ◽

Flow Field ◽

Power Density ◽

Current Collector ◽

Methanol Solution ◽

Maximum Power Density ◽

Type Flow ◽

Different Types ◽

Cathode Current ◽

Total Impedance

The micro direct methanol fuel cell (μDMFC) has attracted more and more attention in the field of new energy due to its simple structure, easy operation, and eco-friendly byproducts. In a μDMFC’s structure, the current collector plays an essential role in collecting the conduction current, and the rational distribution of gas and water. The choice of its material and flow fields would significantly impact the μDMFC’s performance. To this end, four different types of cathode current collector were prepared in this study. The materials selected were stainless steel (SS) and foam stainless steel (FSS), with the flow fields of hole-type and grid-type. The performance of the μDMFC with different types of cathode current collector was investigated by using polarization curves, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and discharging. The experimental results show that the maximum power density of μDMFC of the hole-type FSS cathode current collector is 49.53 mW/cm2 at 70 °C in the methanol solution of 1 mol/L, which is 115.72% higher than that of the SS collector. The maximum power density of the μDMFC with the grid-type FSS collector is 22.60 mW/cm2, which is 27.39% higher than that of the SS collector. The total impedance of the μDMFC of the FSS collector is significantly lower than that of the μDMFC of the SS collector, and the total impedance of the μDMFC with the hole-type flow field collector is lower than that of the grid-type flow field. The discharging of μDMFC with the hole-type FSS collector reaches its optimal value at 70 °C in the methanol solution of 1 mol/L.

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Effects of Anode Serpentine Flow Fields on the Performance of μ-DMFC

Key Engineering Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/kem.562-565.608 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 562-565 ◽

pp. 608-613

Author(s):

Shuo Fang ◽

Yu Feng Zhang ◽

Wen Ting Fu ◽

Xiao Wei Liu

Keyword(s):

Mass Transfer ◽

Flow Field ◽

Simulation Analysis ◽

Current Collector ◽

Flow Fields ◽

Cell Performance ◽

Theory Analysis ◽

Transfer Characteristics ◽

Pressure Distributions ◽

Serpentine Flow Field

This paper dedicated to the investigations of anode mass transfer characteristics of single serpentine, double serpentine, triple serpentine and quadruple serpentine flow fields to choose the best flow field structure. In this paper, the structure sizes of anode different serpentine flow fields have been designed to make the same duty cycle based on the theory analysis. Then a multi-physics 3D model has been established and simulated to analyze and compare mass transfer characteristics of every serpentine flow fields including pressure distributions, velocity distributions and concentration distributions. The current collector plates containing different serpentine flow fields have been made by micromachining. To verify the simulation analysis, the μ-DMFCs with different serpentine flow fields have been packaged and tested. Compared with the simulations, the experiment results come up with the conclusion that the performance of μ-DMFC with double serpentine flow field is a bit higher than those with others. In conclusion, though the cell performance with double serpentine flow field is a bit higher than that with others, its fabrication process is so complicated and the improvement of the performance is not obvious. It is concluded that increasing the serpentine channels of anode flow field doesn’t have many benefits on the cell performance.

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Impact of Cathode Current Collector on High Temperature PEM Water Electrolysis

ECS Transactions ◽

10.1149/06918.0003ecst ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 69 (18) ◽

pp. 3-12 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

H. Li ◽

A. Inada ◽

H. Nakajima ◽

K. Ito

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Current Collector ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Cathode Current ◽

High Temperature Pem

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Impact of Cathode Current Collector on High Temperature PEM Water Electrolysis

ECS Meeting Abstracts ◽

10.1149/ma2015-02/1/5 ◽

2015 ◽

Keyword(s):

High Temperature ◽

Current Collector ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Cathode Current ◽

High Temperature Pem

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Theoretical model of gravitational perturbation of current collector axisymmetric flow field

Journal of Applied Physics ◽

10.1063/1.345170 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 67 (10) ◽

pp. 6099-6108 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John S. Walker ◽

Samuel H. Brown ◽

Neal A. Sondergaard

Keyword(s):

Theoretical Model ◽

Flow Field ◽

Axisymmetric Flow ◽

Current Collector ◽

Gravitational Perturbation

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Inexpensive electrochemical synthesis of nickel iron sulphides on nickel foam: super active and ultra-durable electrocatalysts for alkaline electrolyte membrane water electrolysis

Journal of Materials Chemistry A ◽

10.1039/c6ta04499a ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 4 (42) ◽

pp. 16394-16402 ◽

Cited By ~ 88

Author(s):

Pandian Ganesan ◽

Arumugam Sivanantham ◽

Sangaraju Shanmugam

Keyword(s):

Electrochemical Synthesis ◽

Nickel Foam ◽

Current Collector ◽

Water Electrolysis ◽

Alkaline Electrolyte ◽

Nickel Iron ◽

Electrolyte Membrane ◽

Iron Sulphides ◽

Alkaline Membrane

The inexpensive fabrication of nano-honeycomb structured nickel iron sulphides on a nickel foam current collector is described and used as both anode and cathode in the alkaline membrane water electrolysis.

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