Method to improve catalyst layer model for modelling proton exchange membrane fuel cell

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:289

Article

Zhang, Xiaoxian¹  Gao, Yuan^2,3  Ostadi, Hossein⁴  Jiang, Kyle⁵  Chen, Rui⁶ 

[1] Rothamsted Res, Harpenden ALS 2JQ, Herts, England

[2] Tongji Univ, Clean Energy Automot Engn Ctr, Shanghai 201804, Peoples R China

[3] Tongji Univ, Sch Automot Studies, Shanghai 201804, Peoples R China

[4] Intelligent Energy, Loughborough LE11 3GB, Leics, England

[5] Univ Birmingham, Sch Mech Engn, Birmingham B15 2TT, W Midlands, England

[6] Univ Loughborough, Dept Aeronaut & Automot Engn, Loughborough LE11 3TU, Leics, England

关键词: Cathode catalyst layer;    Agglomerate model;    Oxygen dissolution;    Ionomer film;    Cathode electrode;    Pore-scale modelling;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.04.152

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Correctly describing oxygen reduction within the cathode catalyst layer (CL) in modelling proton exchange membrane fuel cell is an important issue remaining unresolved. In this paper we show how to derive an agglomerate model for calculating oxygen reactions by describing dissolved oxygen in the agglomerates using two independent random processes. The first one is the probability that an oxygen molecule, which dissolves in the ionomer film on the agglomerate surface, moves into and then remains in the agglomerates; the second one is the probability of the molecule being consumed in reactions. The first probability depends on CL structure and can be directly calculated; the second one is derived by assuming that the oxygen reduction is first-order kinetic. It is found that the distribution functions of the first process can be fitted to a generalised gamma distribution function, which enables us to derive an analytical agglomerate model. We also expend the model to include oxygen dissolution in the ionomer film, and apply it to simulate cathode electrodes. The results reveal that the resistance to oxygen diffusion in ionomer film and agglomerate in modern CL is minor, and that the main potential loss is due to oxygen dissolution in the ionomer film. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free