Improving the performance of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers with low Ir-loaded anodes by adding PEDOT:PSS as electrically conductive binder

Ortiz, Edgar Cruz; Hegge, Friedemann; Breitwieser, Matthias; Vierrath, Severin

doi:10.1039/d0ra06714h

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…PEDOT:PSS.-The fabrication process for electrolyzer anodes with pure Nafion as binder, pure poly-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and polystyrene sulfonate acid complex (PEDOT:PSS) as binder and a 50:50 blend as binder was reported in earlier work. 20 The composition of the inks used for the fabrication is summarized in Table I. Detailed fabrication parameters are listed in Table SI.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Catalyst coated membranes were prepared by spray-coating a catalyst ink containing platinum on carbon as cathode onto N115 membrane, as described in a previous work of our group. 20 The final loading of the electrolyzer anode amounted to 0.22 mg Ir cm −2 . The cell voltage at 3 A cm −2 was measured for all samples.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, the method is used to investigate the impact of different graphitization temperatures of a carbon catalyst support on the in-plane resistivity of a fuel cell catalyst layer at ambient temperature and humidity. For PEM water electrolyzer anodes, the method is used to resolve changes in the electrical inplane resistance when a conductive polymer 20 or iridium oxide nanofibers 21 are introduced into the catalyst layers.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Methods— A Simple Method to Measure In-Plane Electrical Resistance of PEM Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Catalyst Layers

Bohn

Holst

Ortiz

et al. 2022

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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Optimizing the catalyst layer of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells and water electrolyzers requires a good understanding of its properties. The in-plane electrical resistance of the catalyst layer is a key property, which impacts the overall cell performance. In this work, we present a simple method to measure the in-plane electrical resistance of catalyst layers under various conditions based on the transfer length method. The applicability of the method was demonstrated on four examples: 1) Placing the compact setup in a climate chamber, showed that reducing the relative humidity from 95 % to 40 % yields a reduction of the resistivity of 15 % in a fuel cell cathode catalyst layer; 2) graphitizing CNovel™ carbon support reduces the resistivity by 98 % in a fuel cell cathode catalyst layer; 3) adding an electrically conductive polymer as electrode binder lowers the in-plane resistivity of a water electrolyzer anode by 50 %; 4) adding IrO2-nanofibers to a low-loaded IrO2-nanoparticle anode lowers its resistivity by 60 %. The broad range of applications in this work confirms the versatility of the setup enabling widespread application. The method hence contributes to an improved deconvolution of different loss mechanisms including electrical in-plane resistivity.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Methods— A Simple Method to Measure In-Plane Electrical Resistance of PEM Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Catalyst Layers

Bohn

Holst

Ortiz

et al. 2022

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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“…Recent studies have focused on the preparation of low-loaded CL by different approaches [8,[10][11][12][13][14][15] including the implementation of an electrical support matrix, the optimization of the fabrication process, or the increase of catalyst layer thickness by adding low-density support materials. For instance, Bernt et al were able to achieve good performance characterizing CLs with a newly developed Heraeus IrO 2 /TiO 2 core-shell catalyst and loadings of 0.27 mg Ir cm −2 but only when Pt-coated PTLs were used, which was attributed to the low electrical conductivity of the supported catalyst.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies have focused on the preparation of low‐loaded CL by different approaches [ 8,10–15 ] including the implementation of an electrical support matrix, the optimization of the fabrication process, or the increase of catalyst layer thickness by adding low‐density support materials. For instance, Bernt et al.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ultrathin Microporous Transport Layers: Implications for Low Catalyst Loadings, Thin Membranes, and High Current Density Operation for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis

Schuler,

Weber,

Wrubel

et al. 2024

Advanced Energy Materials

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Porous transport layers (PTL) and their surface properties have the potential to improve the performance of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWE), which is imperative to reduce feedstock costs and lead to their widespread implementation. This work introduces a novel generation of titanium microporous layers (MPLs) with ultra‐low thicknesses of ≈20 µm which reduces raw material costs. They also feature advanced interfacial properties tailored to maximize catalyst utilization at low Ir‐loadings. The bulk morphology and surface properties of the hierarchically structured PTLs are assessed by X‐ray tomographic microscopy. The low surface roughness of the MPL allows the use of thinner membranes since it minimizes possible deformations in the membrane. Cells containing the MPLs outperformed those containing state‐of‐the‐art commercially available PTL materials by up to 100 mV at 7 A cm−2 in combination with low‐loaded catalyst‐coated membranes of 0.4 mgIr cm−2. Hydrogen crossover is also reduced, especially at low current densities, leading to a larger turndown ratio which can enable more cost‐effective operating strategies. Finally, these rationally designed MPLs also lead to high catalyst utilization by overcoming the naturally occurring high in‐plane resistance of low‐loaded catalyst layers.

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Toward Scalable Production: Catalyst‐Coated Membranes (CCMs) for Anion‐Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis via Direct Bar Coating

Koch

Metzler

Kilian

et al. 2022

Advanced Sustainable Systems

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Direct catalyst coating of membranes is an obvious membrane‐electrode assembly (MEA) fabrication approach. Nevertheless, it bears significant challenges related to excessive swelling of the wetted membranes and catalyst layers during coating. Thermal decaling, which is currently used in proton exchange electrolysis, cannot be used with typical hydrocarbon‐based anion‐exchange membranes due to the lack of a glass transition point. In this work, a novel direct‐coating approach for MEAs for anion‐exchange membrane water electrolysis is proposed. An additional adhesive foil is used to minimize membrane swelling during the coating of the second catalyst layer. The resulting cell efficiency (1 A cm−2 at 1.8 V with ≥ 1.9 mgIr cm−2) is comparable to spray‐coated cells, while the mass transport is reduced at higher current densities (2.11 V vs 2.27 V at 2.7 A cm−2). A fully self‐casted catalyst‐coated membrane with low thickness (35 µm) achieves promising performance of 1.4 A cm−2 at 1.8 V in 0.1 m KOH and 2.0 A cm−2 in 1 m KOH. Constant current holds at 1 A cm−2 in 1 m KOH further shows a comparably low degradation rate of both spray‐ and bar‐coated cells (≈1 mV h−1) after a stabilization period.

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Improving the performance of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers with low Ir-loaded anodes by adding PEDOT:PSS as electrically conductive binder

Abstract: Partial substitution of the Nafion binder with PEDOT:PSS resulted in higher efficiency of proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers thanks to the improved in-plane electrical conductivity in the electrode.

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Methods— A Simple Method to Measure In-Plane Electrical Resistance of PEM Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Catalyst Layers

Methods— A Simple Method to Measure In-Plane Electrical Resistance of PEM Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Catalyst Layers

Ultrathin Microporous Transport Layers: Implications for Low Catalyst Loadings, Thin Membranes, and High Current Density Operation for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolysis

Toward Scalable Production: Catalyst‐Coated Membranes (CCMs) for Anion‐Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis via Direct Bar Coating

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