IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v68y2014icp794-800.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

On the role of the silica-containing catalyst layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Author

Listed:
  • Jung, Chi-Young
  • Yi, Jae-You
  • Yi, Sung-Chul

Abstract

The performance of a PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) severely decreases as the relative humidity decreases. Herein, we present size-controlled SiO2 (silica) nanoparticles in the CLs (catalyst layers) to provide sufficient water to the Nafion ionomer. It is found that the microstructure of the agglomerated CL is notably improved using the SiO2 particles with smaller diameter. In addition, as the SiO2 particle diameter decreases, both the electrochemical surface area and ohmic performance are improved, as well as the wettability, for the PEMFC application. The highest performance is achieved for the CL with the 8 nm SiO2 particle, which results in 2.93 times increased current density at 0.5 V relative to the 80 nm SiO2-containing CL, when SiO2-to-carbon ratio was fixed to 0.20. Consequently, it is more effective to improve the electrode morphology of the SiO2 CL than simply increase the SiO2 content, in order to enhance the fuel-cell performance under low relative humidity.

Suggested Citation

  • Jung, Chi-Young & Yi, Jae-You & Yi, Sung-Chul, 2014. "On the role of the silica-containing catalyst layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 794-800.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:794-800
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.009
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054421400262X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2014.03.009?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lakshminarayana, G. & Nogami, Masayuki & Kityk, I.V., 2010. "Synthesis and characterization of anhydrous proton conducting inorganic–organic composite membranes for medium temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(12), pages 5260-5268.
    2. Carton, J.G. & Lawlor, V. & Olabi, A.G. & Hochenauer, C. & Zauner, G., 2012. "Water droplet accumulation and motion in PEM (Proton Exchange Membrane) fuel cell mini-channels," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 63-73.
    3. Manoj Kumar, P. & Parthasarathy, V., 2013. "A passive method of water management for an air-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 457-461.
    4. Mark K. Debe, 2012. "Electrocatalyst approaches and challenges for automotive fuel cells," Nature, Nature, vol. 486(7401), pages 43-51, June.
    5. Okur, Osman & İyigün Karadağ, Çiğdem & Boyacı San, Fatma Gül & Okumuş, Emin & Behmenyar, Gamze, 2013. "Optimization of parameters for hot-pressing manufacture of membrane electrode assembly for PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells) fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 574-580.
    6. Siegel, C., 2008. "Review of computational heat and mass transfer modeling in polymer-electrolyte-membrane (PEM) fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 33(9), pages 1331-1352.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, H.N. & Lee, W.H. & Choi, B.S. & Ko, Y.D. & Yi, S.C. & Kim, W.J., 2017. "Self-humidifying Pt-C/Pt-TiO2 dual-catalyst electrode membrane assembly for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 12-19.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sayadi, Parvin & Rowshanzamir, Soosan & Parnian, Mohammad Javad, 2016. "Study of hydrogen crossover and proton conductivity of self-humidifying nanocomposite proton exchange membrane based on sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone)," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 292-303.
    2. Parnian, Mohammad Javad & Rowshanzamir, Soosan & Gashoul, Fatemeh, 2017. "Comprehensive investigation of physicochemical and electrochemical properties of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) membranes with different degrees of sulfonation for proton exchange membrane fuel ," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 614-628.
    3. Rahnavard, Aylin & Rowshanzamir, Soosan & Parnian, Mohammad Javad & Amirkhanlou, Gholam Reza, 2015. "The effect of sulfonated poly (ether ether ketone) as the electrode ionomer for self-humidifying nanocomposite proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 746-757.
    4. Salva, J. Antonio & Iranzo, Alfredo & Rosa, Felipe & Tapia, Elvira, 2016. "Validation of cell voltage and water content in a PEM (polymer electrolyte membrane) fuel cell model using neutron imaging for different operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 100-112.
    5. Abdollahzadeh, M. & Ribeirinha, P. & Boaventura, M. & Mendes, A., 2018. "Three-dimensional modeling of PEMFC with contaminated anode fuel," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 939-959.
    6. Fofana, Daouda & Natarajan, Sadesh Kumar & Hamelin, Jean & Benard, Pierre, 2014. "Low platinum, high limiting current density of the PEMFC (proton exchange membrane fuel cell) based on multilayer cathode catalyst approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 398-403.
    7. Xu, Liangfei & Fang, Chuan & Hu, Junming & Cheng, Siliang & Li, Jianqiu & Ouyang, Minggao & Lehnert, Werner, 2017. "Parameter extraction of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell based on quasi-dynamic model and periphery signals," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 675-690.
    8. Yang, H.N. & Lee, W.H. & Choi, B.S. & Ko, Y.D. & Yi, S.C. & Kim, W.J., 2017. "Self-humidifying Pt-C/Pt-TiO2 dual-catalyst electrode membrane assembly for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 12-19.
    9. Iranzo, Alfredo & Boillat, Pierre & Oberholzer, Pierre & Guerra, José, 2014. "A novel approach coupling neutron imaging and numerical modelling for the analysis of the impact of water on fuel cell performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 971-981.
    10. Ramiar, A. & Mahmoudi, A.H. & Esmaili, Q. & Abdollahzadeh, M., 2016. "Influence of cathode flow pulsation on performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cell with interdigitated gas distributors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 206-217.
    11. Hu, Junming & Li, Jianqiu & Xu, Liangfei & Huang, Fusen & Ouyang, Minggao, 2016. "Analytical calculation and evaluation of water transport through a proton exchange membrane fuel cell based on a one-dimensional model," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 869-883.
    12. Ashrafi, Moosa & Kanani, Homayoon & Shams, Mehrzad, 2018. "Numerical and experimental study of two-phase flow uniformity in channels of parallel PEM fuel cells with modified Z-type flow-fields," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 317-328.
    13. Iranzo, Alfredo & Boillat, Pierre & Biesdorf, Johannes & Salva, Antonio, 2015. "Investigation of the liquid water distributions in a 50 cm2 PEM fuel cell: Effects of reactants relative humidity, current density, and cathode stoichiometry," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 914-921.
    14. Chou, Chang-Chen & Liu, Cheng-Hong & Chen, Bing-Hung, 2014. "Effects of reduction temperature and pH value of polyol process on reduced graphene oxide supported Pt electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 231-238.
    15. Kim, Taegyu, 2014. "NaBH4 (sodium borohydride) hydrogen generator with a volume-exchange fuel tank for small unmanned aerial vehicles powered by a PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 721-727.
    16. Barzegari, Mohammad M. & Dardel, Morteza & Alizadeh, Ebrahim & Ramiar, Abas, 2016. "Reduced-order model of cascade-type PEM fuel cell stack with integrated humidifiers and water separators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 683-692.
    17. Guo, Hang & Liu, Xuan & Zhao, Jian Fu & Ye, Fang & Ma, Chong Fang, 2016. "Effect of low gravity on water removal inside proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) with different flow channel configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 926-934.
    18. Xing, Lei & Cai, Qiong & Xu, Chenxi & Liu, Chunbo & Scott, Keith & Yan, Yongsheng, 2016. "Numerical study of the effect of relative humidity and stoichiometric flow ratio on PEM (proton exchange membrane) fuel cell performance with various channel lengths: An anode partial flooding modelli," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 631-645.
    19. Afshari, E. & Mosharaf-Dehkordi, M. & Rajabian, H., 2017. "An investigation of the PEM fuel cells performance with partially restricted cathode flow channels and metal foam as a flow distributor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 705-715.
    20. Gong, Wenyin & Cai, Zhihua, 2013. "Accelerating parameter identification of proton exchange membrane fuel cell model with ranking-based differential evolution," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 356-364.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:794-800. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.