IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v241y2025ics0960148125000102.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Nanoscale modelling of compressive stress on oxygen transfer characteristics in catalyst layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Hao
  • Yang, Xiaoxing
  • Jia, Qingrong
  • Yang, Guogang
  • Zhang, Guoling
  • Li, Zheng
  • Li, Lingquan
  • Huang, Naibao

Abstract

In proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), the compressive stresses lead to changes in the CL morphology, which in turn influence the oxygen transfer characteristics and electrochemical reaction processes within CL. In this work, the nanoscale LB model of the catalyst layer is developed and the effects of Pt-C mass ratio, ionomer content and Pt loading coupled compression ratio on the oxygen transport within the CL pores and ionomer as well as on the electrochemical reaction process are analyzed. The results show that oxygen transfer and electrochemical reaction are dependent on the pore size distribution and active reaction area, and that decreasing the Pt-C mass ratio, increasing the ionomer content and Pt loading increases the active reaction area, but also results in decreasing the pore size and making oxygen transfer more difficult. Compression results in a shorter oxygen transport path and the Pt particles are distributed in a thinner CL, resulting in an increase in the number of active reaction sites and increasing the mean oxygen concentration within the ionomer. There are optimal values of ionomer content and Pt loading that result in the fastest oxygen consumption rate, and CL performance is not simply directly related to Pt loading.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Hao & Yang, Xiaoxing & Jia, Qingrong & Yang, Guogang & Zhang, Guoling & Li, Zheng & Li, Lingquan & Huang, Naibao, 2025. "Nanoscale modelling of compressive stress on oxygen transfer characteristics in catalyst layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:241:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125000102
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2025.122348
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148125000102
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2025.122348?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. Hou, Yuze & Deng, Hao & Pan, Fengwen & Chen, Wenmiao & Du, Qing & Jiao, Kui, 2019. "Pore-scale investigation of catalyst layer ingredient and structure effect in proton exchange membrane fuel cell," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Zhang, Ruiyuan & Min, Ting & Chen, Li & Kang, Qinjun & He, Ya-Ling & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2019. "Pore-scale and multiscale study of effects of Pt degradation on reactive transport processes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    3. Akbar, Ali & Um, Sukkee, 2022. "Influence of external clamping pressure on nanoscopic mechanical deformation and catalyst utilization of quaternion PtC catalyst layers for PEMFCs," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 195-210.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Wan, Yue & Qiu, Diankai & Yi, Peiyun & Peng, Linfa & Lai, Xinmin, 2022. "Design and optimization of gradient wettability pore structure of adaptive PEM fuel cell cathode catalyst layer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    2. Wang, Yulin & Qi, Lixia & Ma, Fei & Li, Hua & Ma, Shuai & Wang, Cheng & He, Wei & Wang, Shixue, 2025. "Optimization of a catalyst layer with a high-utilization gradient Pt distribution for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 378(PB).
    3. Dou, Shaojun & Hao, Liang & Liu, Hong, 2023. "Effects of carbon aggregates and ionomer distribution on the performance of PEM fuel cell catalyst layer: A pore-scale study," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    4. Yu, Rui Jiao & Guo, Hang & Ye, Fang & Chen, Hao, 2022. "Multi-parameter optimization of stepwise distribution of parameters of gas diffusion layer and catalyst layer for PEMFC peak power density," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    5. Teng Teng & Xin Zhang & Qicheng Xue & Baodi Zhang, 2024. "Research of Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Modeling on Concentration Polarization under Variable-Temperature Operating Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-17, February.
    6. Guo, Lingyi & Chen, Li & Zhang, Ruiyuan & Peng, Ming & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2022. "Pore-scale simulation of two-phase flow and oxygen reactive transport in gas diffusion layer of proton exchange membrane fuel cells: Effects of nonuniform wettability and porosity," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    7. Zhang, Ruiyuan & Min, Ting & Chen, Li & Li, Hailong & Yan, Jinyue & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2022. "Pore-scale study of effects of relative humidity on reactive transport processes in catalyst layers in PEMFC," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    8. Namazi, Mohammadmehdi & Nayebi, Mohammadreza & Isazadeh, Amin & Modarresi, Ali & Marzbali, Iman Ghasemi & Hosseinalipour, Seyed Mostafa, 2022. "Experimental and numerical study of catalytic combustion and pore-scale numerical study of mass diffusion in high porosity fibrous porous media," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    9. Krystof Foniok & Lubomira Drozdova & Lukas Prokop & Filip Krupa & Pavel Kedron & Vojtech Blazek, 2025. "Mechanisms and Modelling of Effects on the Degradation Processes of a Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell: A Comprehensive Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-64, April.
    10. Olivier Bethoux, 2020. "Hydrogen Fuel Cell Road Vehicles: State of the Art and Perspectives," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-28, November.
    11. Bai, Fan & Tang, Zhiyi & Yin, Ren-Jie & Quan, Hong-Bing & Chen, Lei & Dai, David & Tao, Wen-Quan, 2024. "A novel ‘3D + digital twin + 3D’ upscaling strategy for predicting the detailed multi-physics distributions in a commercial-size proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).
    12. Huang, Lei & Zhang, Xuexia & Jiang, Yu & Dong, Sidi & Huang, Ruike & Liao, Hongbo & Tang, Shuangxi, 2025. "Degradation analysis of dynamic voltage response characteristics of proton exchange membrane fuel cells for health evaluation under dynamic load," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 389(C).
    13. Li, Xiao-Yang & Chen, Da-Yu & Wu, Ji-Peng & Kang, Rui, 2022. "3-Dimensional general ADT modeling and analysis: Considering epistemic uncertainties in unit, time and stress dimension," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 225(C).
    14. Lai, Tao & Qu, Zhiguo, 2023. "Two polytetrafluoroethylene distribution effects on liquid water dynamic behavior in gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell with a pore-scale method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    15. Yang, Liu & Cao, Chenxi & Gan, Quanquan & Pei, Hao & Zhang, Qi & Li, Ping, 2022. "Revealing failure modes and effect of catalyst layer properties for PEM fuel cell cold start using an agglomerate model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    16. Fan, Ruijia & Chang, Guofeng & Xu, Yiming & Xu, Jiamin, 2024. "Investigating and quantifying the effects of catalyst layer gradients, operating conditions, and their interactions on PEMFC performance through global sensitivity analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    17. Mengnan Wang & Jiaguang Zhang & Silvia Favero & Luke J. R. Higgins & Hui Luo & Ifan E. L. Stephens & Maria-Magdalena Titirici, 2024. "Resolving optimal ionomer interaction in fuel cell electrodes via operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. Dou, Shaojun & Hao, Liang & Wang, Qianqian & Liu, Hong, 2024. "Effects of agglomerate structure and operating humidity on the catalyst layer performance of PEM fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    19. Li, Bing & Wan, Kechuang & Xie, Meng & Chu, Tiankuo & Wang, Xiaolei & Li, Xiang & Yang, Daijun & Ming, Pingwen & Zhang, Cunman, 2022. "Durability degradation mechanism and consistency analysis for proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 314(C).
    20. Fu, Ya-Lu & Zhang, Biao & Zhu, Xun & Ye, Ding-Ding & Sui, Pang-Chieh & Djilali, Ned, 2020. "Pore-scale modeling of oxygen transport in the catalyst layer of air-breathing cathode in membraneless microfluidic fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).

    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:renene:v:241:y:2025:i:c:s0960148125000102. 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/renewable-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.