Enhanced Water Management of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells with Additive-Containing Microporous Layers

Dusan Spernjak; Rangachary Mukundan; Rodney L. Borup; Liam G. Connolly; Benjamin I. Zackin; Vincent De Andrade; Michael Wojcik; Dilworth Y. Parkinson; David L. Jacobson; Daniel S. Hussey; Karren L. More; Thomas Chan; Adam Z. Weber; Iryna V. Zenyuk

doi:10.1021/acsaem.8b01059

journal article·2018-11-26Open access

Enhanced Water Management of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells with Additive-Containing Microporous Layers

Dusan Spernjak, Rangachary Mukundan, Rodney L. Borup, Liam G. Connolly, Benjamin I. Zackin, Vincent De Andrade, Michael Wojcik, Dilworth Y. Parkinson, David L. Jacobson, Daniel S. Hussey, Karren L. More, Thomas Chan, Adam Z. Weber, Iryna V. Zenyuk

ACS Applied Energy Materials· Volume 1· Issue 11

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Source abstract

Abstract

This work describes the performance improvement of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell with a novel class of microporous layers (MPLs) that incorporates hydrophilic additives: one with 30 μm aluminosilicate fibers and another with multiwalled carbon nanotubes with a domain size of 5 μm. Higher current densities at low potentials were observed for cells with the additive-containing MPLs compared to a baseline cell with a conventional MPL, which correlate with improvements in water management. This is also observed for helium and oxygen experiments and by the lower amount of liquid water in the cell, as determined by neutron radiography. Furthermore, carbon-nanotube-containing MPLs demonstrates improved durability compared to the baseline MPL. Microstructural analyses including nanotomography demonstrate that the filler material in both the additive-containing MPLs provide preferential transport pathways for liquid water, which correlate with ex situ measurements. The main advantage provided by these MPLs is improved liquid-water removal from the cathode catalyst layer, resulting in enhanced oxygen delivery to the electrocatalyst sites.

Source: openalex_inverted_index · Quality: baseline

Research context

Energy storage Polymers Nanomaterials Catalysis & surfaces

OpenAlex topics: Fuel Cells and Related Materials · Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion · Advancements in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), MS D429, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, United States

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts 02155, United States

Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United States

National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, MS 846, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States

Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1 Bethel Valley Road, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831-6064, United States

Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science; National Fuel Cell Research Center, University of California, Irvine, California 92617, United States

Funding

Physical Measurement Laboratory · NIST Center for Neutron Research · National Institute of Standards and Technology · U.S. Department of Commerce · U.S. Department of Energy · Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems · Fuel Cell Technologies Program · Office of the Director, National Institute of Standards and Technology

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