A parametric study of cathode catalyst layer structural parameters on the performance of a PEM fuel cell

Khajeh-Hosseini-Dalasm, N.; Kermani, M.J.; Moghaddam, Davood Ghadiri; Stockie, John M.

doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2009.12.111

Cited by 155 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The boundary and base set conditions to solve the equations are also given in our previous work. 9) It is worthy to note that a good agreement between the CCL model presented here with the experimental observations 11) as well as the computational fluid dynamics simulations 12) in terms of polarization curves (i.e., voltage versus current) has been achieved.…”

Section: Modelsupporting

confidence: 72%

An Effective Computational Approach to the Parametric Study of the Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEM Fuel Cells

Ahadian

Khajeh-Hosseini-Dalasm

Fushinobu

et al. 2011

Mater. Trans.

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We propose an integrated modeling, prediction, and analysis framework for the parametric study of the cathode catalyst layer (CCL) of PEM fuel cells. A parametric study is performed on a macro-homogeneous film model of the CCL. An artificial neural network (ANN) is then used in order to model and predict the effect of various structural parameters on the activation overpotential of the CCL. The application of the ANN approach is an asset to deal with the complexity of this problem and leads to considerably save the computational time and cost and to remove undesired computational errors. The proposed computational approach shows that an increase in the platinum mass loading causes a decrease in the activation overpotential or equivalently an increase in the CCL performance. The main effects of increasing the carbon mass loading, gas diffusion layer (GDL) volume fraction in the CCL, and CCL thickness are that the activation overpotential is going up. GDL porosity has almost no effect on the CCL performance while the CCL performance has a quadratic behavior with respect to the membrane volume fraction in the CCL. Further investigation is done in order to quantify these effects as well as the combined effects of these parameters.

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Section: Modelsupporting

confidence: 72%

An Effective Computational Approach to the Parametric Study of the Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEM Fuel Cells

Ahadian

Khajeh-Hosseini-Dalasm

Fushinobu

et al. 2011

Mater. Trans.

Self Cite

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“…Due to lower H 2 partial pressure on CE/RE, the presented cyclic voltammograms were corrected with a 45.5 mV shift calculated by the Nernst equation [22]. (The CO-stripping voltammograms and EIS measurements in N 2 are reported below with respect to RHE which in this work refers to the cathode potential vs. the CE/RE, corrected for the Nernst shift, under conditions for which the anode polarization is negligible.…”

Section: In-situ Electrochemical Evaluationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The thickness the catalyst layers have been shown experimentally [10,11,12,13,14,15] and theoretically [16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23] to be decisive in determining the performance of the layers. From the data of Wilson and Gottesfeld [24] a thickness of around 4 µm appears to strike an optimum compromise in terms of catalyst utilization and performance for catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) electrodes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Catalyst Layer Thickness on the Performance and Degradation of PEM Fuel Cell Cathodes with Constant Catalyst Loading

Darab

Barnett

Lindbergh

et al. 2017

Electrochimica Acta

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Three catalytic layers containing Pt nanoparticles supported on high surface area carbon of different Pt loading but with the same total amount of platinum and therefore of different thickness were employed as cathode catalytic layers (CCLs) in a PEM fuel cell. The layers were subjected to a degradation protocol with an upper potential limit of 1.5 V. Upon exposure to the degradation protocol particle size increased, the electrochemical areas (ECAs) of the catalysts decreased, the catalytic layers became thinner, and the average pore size decreased, indicating both carbon and Pt corrosion. The relative decrease in the ECA was approximately the same for all three layers and was therefore approximately independent of CCL thickness. For all samples the reaction order with respect to oxygen was one half and the samples showed doubling of the slope of the potential vs. log current curve (dE/d log i) at high current densities. This indicates that kinetics control the potential at low currents and kinetics and proton migration (ohmic drops in the catalytic layer) at high. However, the degradation protocol also introduced limitations due to oxygen diffusion in the agglomerates. This led to a quadrupling of the dE/d log i-slope in 13% oxygen in the samples with the highest catalyst area per volume. For the sample with the lowest catalyst area per volume this slope increased by a factor of six in 13% oxygen, indicating that the local current density exceeded that required for the Tafel slope of the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) to double.

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“…Parametric studies of CLs were accomplished by Yin 14 using an agglomerate model, with the model predicting the general polarization-curve trend as a function of parameters such as gas void fraction 7,16 and ionomer 4,5,10,29 and catalyst loadings 5,10,[30][31][32] within the CL.…”

Section: _enref_29mentioning

confidence: 99%

Modeling Low-Platinum-Loading Effects in Fuel-Cell Catalyst Layers

Yoon¹,

Weber²

2011

J. Electrochem. Soc.

145

122

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The cathode catalyst layer within a proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell is the most complex and critical, yet least understood, layer within the cell. The exact method and equations for modeling this layer are still being revised and will be discussed in this paper, including a 0.8 reaction order, existence of Pt oxides, possible non-isopotential agglomerates, and the impact of a film resistance towards oxygen transport. While the former assumptions are relatively straightforward to understand and implement, the latter film resistance is shown to be critically important in explaining increased mass-transport limitations with low Pt-loading catalyst layers. Model results demonstrate agreement with experimental data that the increased oxygen flux and/or diffusion pathway through the film can substantially decrease performance. Also, some scale-up concepts from the agglomerate scale to the more macroscopic porous-electrode scale are discussed and the resulting optimization scenarios investigated. IntroductionThe catalyst layer (CL) is a very complex chemical and geometric environment for electrochemical reactions in proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). It is composed of supported catalyst particles, ionomer, and gas pores. The reaction occurs at sites where various reacting species such as protons, electrons, and gases meet. Modeling the structure has been approached by various means 1 , and a rigorous mathematical model of the CL is required to capture transport within the different phases, electrochemical reaction, and heat and water generation. Among previous models, one of the most accepted models is an agglomerate particle composed of the ionomer, gas voids, liquid water, and catalyst that is covered by a thin film of ionomer . This idea is supported by various experimental observations such as scanningelectron-and transmission-electron-microscopy studies. In this model, oxygen is dissolved in the ionomer film surrounding the agglomerate, and the dissolved oxygen diffuses to the agglomerate where simultaneous transport and reaction occur. Typically, the agglomerate model is embedded (i.e., distributed uniformly across the CL) into a porous-electrode model to describe the CL fully 1 . _ENREF_29Optimization of the CL for enhancing PEMFC performance is of great interest for researchers and industry. Parametric studies of CLs were accomplished by Yin 14 using an agglomerate model, with the model predicting the general polarization-curve trend as a function of parameters such as gas void fraction 7,16 and ionomer 4,5,10,29 and catalyst loadings 5,10,[30][31][32] within the CL.Similarly, several optimization studies 16,22,30 using an agglomerate model were conducted to obtain optimum design parameters such as catalyst loading, CL thickness, and Pt/C ratio for best performance at a given potential. However, all the studies were based on several assumptions 4 and issues that are not correct validated or possibly correct including a lack of ionomer films and a first-order oxygen dependence for the oxygen redu...

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A parametric study of cathode catalyst layer structural parameters on the performance of a PEM fuel cell

Cited by 155 publications

References 19 publications

An Effective Computational Approach to the Parametric Study of the Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEM Fuel Cells

An Effective Computational Approach to the Parametric Study of the Cathode Catalyst Layer of PEM Fuel Cells

The Influence of Catalyst Layer Thickness on the Performance and Degradation of PEM Fuel Cell Cathodes with Constant Catalyst Loading

Modeling Low-Platinum-Loading Effects in Fuel-Cell Catalyst Layers

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