Morphology Controlled Cathode Catalyst Layer with AAO Template in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Catalyst supports for polymer electrolyte fuel cells.

A major challenge in obtaining long-term durability in fuel cells is to discover catalyst supports that do not corrode, or corrode much more slowly than the current carbon blacks used in today's polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. Such materials must be sufficiently stable at low pH (acidic conditions) and high potential, in contact with the polymer membrane and under exposure to hydrogen ...

F FFC-NMR of Catalyst Layer Materials for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

1 H and 19 F spin lattice relaxation rates of catalyst layer materials (CLM) of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells were measured by the fast field cycling (FFC) method. In contrast to ionomer membranes, 1 H relaxation rates of adsorbed water in both platinumKetjen black (Pt-KB) catalyst powder and CLM were strongly dependent on Larmor frequency approximated by a power law due to the strong...

Direct Numerical Simulation Modeling of Bilayer Cathode Catalyst Layers in Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells

A pore-scale description of species and charge transport through a bilayer cathode catalyst layer CL of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell using a direct numerical simulation DNS model is presented. Two realizations of the bilayer catalyst layer structure are generated using a stochastic reconstruction technique with varied electrolyte and void phase volume fractions. The DNS calculations predict ...

Proton Conductivity of Graphene-based Nafion® Catalyst Layer for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Oxygen Mass Transport Limitations at the Cathode of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Oxygen transport across the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells was examined by varying the O2/N2 ratio and by varying the area of the GDL extending laterally from the gas flow channel under the bipolar plate (under the land). As the cathode is depleted of oxygen, the current density becomes limited by oxygen transport across the GDL. Oxygen deplet...