Investigating the effects of gas diffusion layer substrate thickness on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance via synchrotron X-ray radiography

Lee, J.; Chevalier, S.; Banerjee, Rupak; Antonacci, Patrick; Gao, Nan; Yip, Ronnie; Kotaka, Toshikazu; Tabuchi, Yuichiro; Bazylak, Aimy

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2017.03.162

Cited by 55 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…MPL). Equation (3.5) will then lead to the calculation of a negative value [24,118,119]. While this observation is graphically indicated as negative water thickness or negative saturation in this study, the change in optical depth is in fact a physically meaningful and potentially useful indication of material displacement.…”

Section: Comment On Materials Movementmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…While this observation is graphically indicated as negative water thickness or negative saturation in this study, the change in optical depth is in fact a physically meaningful and potentially useful indication of material displacement. It is possible to identify and diagnose delamination events and membrane swelling or shrinkage events [118,119] by calculating the positive or negative change in optical depth relative to the reference image. The effects of material movement on liquid water quantification were confined to the pixels near material interfaces.…”

Section: Comment On Materials Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Muirhead

Banerjee

George

et al. 2018

Electrochimica Acta

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In this thesis, the relative humidity (RH) of the cathode reactant gas was investigated as a factor which influences gas diffusion layer (GDL) liquid water accumulation and mass transport-related efficiency losses over a range of operating current densities in a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. Limiting current measurements were used to characterize fuel cell oxygen transport resistance while simultaneous measurements of liquid water accumulation were conducted using synchrotron X-ray radiography. GDL porosity distributions were characterized with micro-computed tomography (μCT). The work presented here can be used by researchers to develop improved numerical models to predict GDL liquid water accumulation and to inform the design of next-generation GDL materials to mitigate mass transport-related efficiency losses. This work also contributes an extensive set of concurrent performance and liquid water visualization data to the PEM fuel cell field that can be used for validating multiphase transport models.iii

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Section: Comment On Materials Movementmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Comment On Materials Movementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Muirhead

Banerjee

George

et al. 2018

Electrochimica Acta

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“…A description of the model and parameter fitting procedure are provided in our previous studies. 13,35,36,47 In-operando measurement of liquid water.-Synchrotron imaging.-Radiographs of the operating fuel cell were acquired at the Biomedical Imaging Therapy Bending Magnet beamline (05B1-1) of the Canadian Light Source Inc. (CLS) (Saskatoon, Canada). 48 The energy level of the monochromatic X-ray beam was set to 24 keV, and a pixel resolution of 6.5 μm was achieved with a temporal resolution of 3 seconds per frame.…”

Section: Experimental Methodologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube-Based Microporous Layers for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Lee

Banerjee

George

et al. 2017

J. Electrochem. Soc.

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The presence of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) corresponded to a dispersion of carbon black particles in the microporous layer (MPL) of the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell. The gas diffusion layer (GDL) with a MWCNT-based MPL exhibited larger pores and a higher porosity compared to a conventional GDL, and less MPL intrusion into the GDL substrate was observed with the MWCNTs-based MPL. The GDLs were evaluated in operando in a fuel cell that was customized for concurrent liquid water visualization (synchrotron X-ray radiography) and electrochemical characterization. The MWCNT-based fuel cell exhibited higher power densities and lower mass transport resistances compared to the fuel cell with the conventional GDL; however, a higher liquid water saturation was observed for the MWCNT-based GDL. Although the liquid water saturation in the MWCNTbased GDL was higher, its higher effective porosity led to superior performance compared to the conventional fuel cell. The use of the MWCNTs-based MPL resulted in improved oxygen transport in the fuel cell, particularly at high current densities. The achievement of effective water management in the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell remains a challenge. Excess liquid water accumulation in the gas diffusion layer (GDL) hinders the transport of oxygen in the fuel cell. Reduced oxygen diffusion in the liquid water saturated GDL leads to efficiency losses and unstable performance.1,2 However, the commonly used bi-layered GDL (containing a carbon fiber substrate and a microporous layer (MPL)) has been shown to enhance liquid water management and the overall performance of the fuel cell. [3][4][5][6][7][8] In recent years, significant effort has been devoted to developing novel carbon fiber substrates and MPLs.9-18 Thomas et al. 9 developed a novel method for preparing hydrophobic GDLs via the electrochemical reduction of diazonium salts. GDLs were prepared with homogenous hydrophobicity distributions in the absence of pore structure modifications. Nguyen et al. 10 introduced the direct fluorination of the GDL for providing homogenous hydrophobicity. Less liquid water content was observed in these novel GDLs compared to the conventional GDL (SGL 24 BC) when visualized with soft X-rays. In the works of Forner-Cuenca et al.,11,12 a patterning of wettability was applied to a Toray GDL through radiation grafting. Hydrophilic regions facilitated preferential pathways for liquid water transport, while hydrophobic regions facilitated gas transport. Chevalier et al.13 created a novel GDL via electrospinning and radiation grafting. Ko et al.14 proposed a novel GDL through the dry deposition of hydrophobic silicone nanolayer on carbon fibers. The longterm operational stability and dynamic response of the GDL were improved.On the other hand, a number of works have focused on MPL additives for improving water management in fuel cells.19-29 While conventional MPLs consist of carbon black particles and a hydrophobic agent, such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), recent ...

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“…The voltages at 1000 mA/ cm 2 for 29-WUT and 29 BC were 0.73 and 0.66 V, respectively. 6 As can be seen in Figure 4 and Table 1, the R a at 1000 mA/cm 2 of 2 MEAs with 29 BC and 29-WUT were about 2.70 and 2.67 mΩ, and the R a at 1600 mA/cm 2 were about 2.58 and 2.57 mΩ. To clarify the reasons for this phenomenon, a series of measurements were thus conducted.…”

Section: The Performance Of Measmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…It is sandwiched between flow field and catalyst layer (CL), and its functions are to supply reactant gases to the electrodes, to remove product water, and to provide good electrical and thermal contact. The designs of GDL, such as thickness, 6,7 pore size, 8,9 porosity, 10,11 hydrophobicity, 12,13 hydrophilicity, 14 compression ratio, [15][16][17] and the role of cracks in MPL structure [18][19][20] have been evolved significantly during recent years with the key aim of improving their performance for delivering their role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determination of oxygen transport resistance in gas diffusion layer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

Wan

Zhong²,

Liu³

et al. 2018

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Gas diffusion layer (GDL) plays an important role in the performance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in polymer electrolyte fuel cells. In this work, 2‐type MEAs were prepared by 2 different GDLs of 29 BC and 29‐WUT, and the performance were investigated using polarization curve methods. The performance of MEA with 29‐WUT was 120 mV higher than 29 BC at 1600 mA/cm2. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) was applied to measure the mass transport resistance of 2‐type MEAs under normal running condition. The results of EIS showed that the mass transport resistance of 29 BC was 3.15 times higher than that of 29‐WUT at 1600 mA/cm2. To clarify this phenomenon, limiting current methods were applied under diluting oxygen concentration, low humidity, and high flow rate conditions. The results of limiting current methods showed that both the total oxygen transport resistance and the molecular diffusion resistance in the GDL of 29 BC were larger than that of 29‐WUT due to the lower porosity of gas diffusion substrate in 29 BC. As a result, EIS can be well combined with limiting current methods to analyze oxygen transport resistance in GDLs of fuel cells.

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Investigating the effects of gas diffusion layer substrate thickness on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance via synchrotron X-ray radiography

Cited by 55 publications

References 70 publications

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Liquid water saturation and oxygen transport resistance in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell gas diffusion layers

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube-Based Microporous Layers for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Determination of oxygen transport resistance in gas diffusion layer for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

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