(Digital Presentation) Effects of Catalyst Dimension Parameters on Local Oxygen Transport in Cathode Catalyst Layer of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell

Abstract

Improving the performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) can help accelerate their large-scale commercial application. In this paper, an agglomerate model is proposed and developed by coupling a one-dimensional local oxygen transport model with a one-dimensional multiphase non-isothermal fuel cell sub-model to study the influences of catalyst dimension parameters (Pt radius, Pt average dispersity, carbon radius) on local oxygen transport and cell performance. And this elaborate model shows that the smaller Pt radius, carbon radius, and the higher Pt average dispersity can reduce the transport distance of oxygen molecules from the pores to the active sites, and then decrease the local resistance. Based on the above understanding, the optimum performance of the optimized cell with a Pt loading of 0.2 mg cm-2 is improved by 22%, slightly higher than the original cell with a Pt loading of 0.4 mg cm-2, which achieves a 50% reduction in Pt loading while maintaining the cell performance. This research will give a guide for improving cell performance.