scholarly journals The Gas diffusion electrode setup as a testing platform for evaluating fuel cell catalysts: a comparative RDE-GDE study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Nösberger ◽  
Jia Du ◽  
Jonathan Quinson ◽  
Etienne Berner ◽  
Alessandro Zana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Liquid Electrolyte ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
Rotating Disk Electrode ◽  
Intrinsic Activity ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Potential Range ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts

Gas diffusion electrode (GDE) setups have been recently introduced as a new experimental approach to test the performance of fuel cell catalysts. As compared to the state-of-the-art in fundamental research, i.e., rotating disk electrode (RDE) measurements, GDE measurements offer several advantages. Most importantly mass transport limitations, inherent to RDE measurements are avoided. In a GDE setup the reactant, e.g., oxygen gas, is not dissolved into a liquid electrolyte but distributed through a gas diffusion layer (GDL), as it is actually the case in fuel cells. Consequently, much higher current densities can be achieved, and the catalysts can be studied in a wider and more relevant potential range. Furthermore, direct contact to a liquid electrolyte can be avoided and elevated temperatures can be employed in a straight-forward manner. However, the use of GDE setups also comes with some challenges. The determined performance is not strictly related to the catalyst itself (intrinsic activity), but also to the quality of the catalyst film preparation. Therefore, it might be even more important than in RDE testing to develop standardized procedures to prepare catalysts inks and films that can be reproduced effortlessly in research laboratories for fundamental and applied experimentation. To develop such standardized testing protocols, we present a comparative RDE – GDE study, where we investigate several commercial standard Pt/C fuel cell catalysts with respect to the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The study highlights the strengths of the GDE approach as an intermediate “testing step” between RDE and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) tests when developing new fuel catalysts.

scholarly journals Testing fuel cell catalysts under more realistic reaction conditions: accelerated stress tests in a gas diffusion electrode setup

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 024003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shima Alinejad ◽  
Masanori Inaba ◽  
Johanna Schröder ◽  
Jia Du ◽  
Jonathan Quinson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
Stress Tests ◽  
Reaction Conditions ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts ◽  
Testing Fuel

scholarly journals A New Approach to Probe the Degradation of Fuel Cell Catalysts under Realistic Conditions: Combining Tests in a Gas Diffusion Electrode Setup with Small Angle X-ray Scattering

2020 ◽  
Vol 167 (13) ◽  
pp. 134515 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Schröder ◽  
Jonathan Quinson ◽  
Jette K. Mathiesen ◽  
Jacob J. K. Kirkensgaard ◽  
Shima Alinejad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Small Angle ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
New Approach ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts ◽  
Ray Scattering

Benchmarking high surface area electrocatalysts in a gas diffusion electrode: measurement of oxygen reduction activities under realistic conditions

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 988-994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masanori Inaba ◽  
Anders Westergaard Jensen ◽  
Gustav Wilhelm Sievers ◽  
María Escudero-Escribano ◽  
Alessandro Zana ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Oxygen Reduction ◽  
Surface Area ◽  
High Surface ◽  
High Surface Area ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrodes ◽  
Electrocatalytic Performance ◽  
Fuel Cell Catalysts

In this work, we introduce the application of gas diffusion electrodes (GDE) for benchmarking the electrocatalytic performance of high surface area fuel cell catalysts.

scholarly journals Water Electrolysis Using a Porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 Catalyst Electrode and Nafion Membranes at Elevated Temperatures

Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 330
Author(s):  
Je-Deok Kim ◽  
Akihiro Ohira
Keyword(s):  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
High Current Density ◽  
Water Electrolysis ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Porous Ti ◽  
Diffusion Layers ◽  
Iro2 Catalyst ◽  
Ti Powder ◽  
Catalyst Electrode

Porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 catalyst electrodes were obtained by coating IrO2 on both sides of three types of porous Ti powder sheets (sample 1, sample 2, and sample 3) using different surface treatment methods, and a hydrogen evolution catalyst electrode was obtained by coating Pt/C on carbon gas diffusion layers. A Nafion115 membrane was used as an electrolyte for the membrane electrode assemblies (MEA). Water electrolysis was investigated at cell temperatures up to 150 °C, and the electrical characteristics of the three types of porous IrO2/Ti/IrO2 catalyst electrodes were investigated. The sheet resistance of sample 1 was higher than those of samples 2 and 3, although during water electrolysis, a high current density was observed due to the nanostructure of the IrO2 catalyst. In addition, the structural stabilities of Nafion and Aquivion membranes up to 150 °C were investigated by using small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). The polymer structures of Nafion and Aquivion membranes were stable up to 80 °C, whereas the crystalline domains grew significantly above 120 °C. In other words, the initial polymer structure did not recover after the sample was heated above the glass transition temperature.

A novel dual catalyst layer structured gas diffusion electrode for enhanced performance of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell

2014 ◽  
Vol 246 ◽  
pp. 63-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaneng Su ◽  
Ting-Chu Jao ◽  
Sivakumar Pasupathi ◽  
Bernard Jan Bladergroen ◽  
Vladimir Linkov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperature ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Catalyst Layer ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Gas Diffusion Electrode ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Exchange Membrane

scholarly journals Recent Progress in the Development of Aromatic Polymer-Based Proton Exchange Membranes for Fuel Cell Applications

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raja Rafidah R. S. ◽  
Rashmi W. ◽  
Khalid M. ◽  
Wong W. Y. ◽  
Priyanka J.
Keyword(s):  
Fuel Cells ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Proton Conductivity ◽  
Elevated Temperatures ◽  
Proton Exchange Membranes ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Aryl Ether

Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) play a pivotal role in fuel cells; conducting protons from the anode to the cathode within the cell’s membrane electrode assembles (MEA) separates the reactant fuels and prevents electrons from passing through. High proton conductivity is the most important characteristic of the PEM, as this contributes to the performance and efficiency of the fuel cell. However, it is also important to take into account the membrane’s durability to ensure that it canmaintain itsperformance under the actual fuel cell’s operating conditions and serve a long lifetime. The current state-of-the-art Nafion membranes are limited due to their high cost, loss of conductivity at elevated temperatures due to dehydration, and fuel crossover. Alternatives to Nafion have become a well-researched topic in recent years. Aromatic-based membranes where the polymer chains are linked together by aromatic rings, alongside varying numbers of ether, ketone, or sulfone functionalities, imide, or benzimidazoles in their structures, are one of the alternatives that show great potential as PEMs due totheir electrochemical, mechanical, and thermal strengths. Membranes based on these polymers, such as poly(aryl ether ketones) (PAEKs) and polyimides (PIs), however, lack a sufficient level of proton conductivity and durability to be practical for use in fuel cells. Therefore, membrane modifications are necessary to overcome their drawbacks. This paper reviews the challenges associated with different types of aromatic-based PEMs, plus the recent approaches that have been adopted to enhance their properties and performance.

Investigation of Thermal Influence on the Assembly of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell Stacks

2012 ◽  
Vol 512-515 ◽  
pp. 1509-1514
Author(s):  
Lin Fa Peng ◽  
Dian Kai Qiu ◽  
Pei Yun Yi ◽  
Xin Min Lai
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
Fuel Cell ◽  
Contact Pressure ◽  
Proton Exchange Membrane ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Gas Diffusion ◽  
Proton Exchange ◽  
Membrane Electrode ◽  
Fe Model ◽  
Assembly Process

The assembly force in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) stack affects the characteristics of the porosity and electrical conductivity. Generally, the stack is assembled at room temperature while it’s operated at about 80 °Cor even higher. As a result, the assembly pressure can’t keep constant due to thermal expansion. This paper focuses on the contact pressure between membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and bipolar plates in real operations. A three-dimensional finite element (FE) model for the assembly process is established with coupled thermal-mechanical effects. The discipline of contact pressure under thermal-mechanical effect is investigated. A single cell stack is fabricated in house for the analysis of contact pressures on gas diffusion layer at different temperatures. The results show that as the temperature increases, contact pressure increases due to thermal expansion. It indicates that the influence of thermal expansion due to temperature variation should be taken into consideration for the design of the stack assembly process.

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