Impact of electrode thick spot irregularities on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell initial performance

JOURNAL OF POWER SOURCES

卷:466

Article

Wang, Min¹  Rome, Grace^1,2  Medina, Samantha³  Pfeilsticker, Jason R.¹  Kang, Zhenye¹  Pylypenko, Svitlana^1,3  Ulsh, Michael¹  Bender, Guido¹ 

[1] Natl Renewable Energy Lab, Chem & Nanosci Ctr, 15013 Denver West Pkwy, Golden, CO 80401 USA

[2] Colorado Sch Mines, Dept Met & Mat Engn, Golden, CO 80401 USA

[3] Colorado Sch Mines, Dept Chem, Golden, CO 80401 USA

关键词: PEMFC;    Electrode irregularities;    MEA structure;    Segmented cell;    Spatial performance;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jpowsour.2020.228344

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells have great potential for power generation in many applications, but to implement them on a larger scale, understanding of quality requirements, tolerances, and controls during manufacturing must improve. As part of this broad challenge, irregularities resulting from the membrane electrode assembly production process must be studied to determine if they impact the performance of the cell. One potential irregularity is a locally increased thickness of the coated or deposited electrode. In order to understand and provide insight into the impact of such irregularities, we intentionally created thick spots in the center of cathode electrodes. The thick spots fabricated by two different approaches were carefully characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The impact of the thick spots on the electrochemically active catalyst area and mass activity was minimal. However, specific electrode thick spot irregularities significantly impacted the mass transport properties of the cells. Based on SEM analysis, the likely cause of the performance drop is morphological changes associated with the creation of the thick spot irregularity. Spatial performance results obtained with a segmented cell system further indicated that the area of the performance impact exceeded that of the intentionally created thick spot.

【 授权许可】

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