Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization

doi:10.1016/j.cjche.2021.11.013

Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering ›› 2022, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (1): 473-479.DOI: 10.1016/j.cjche.2021.11.013

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Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization

Jinyan Xi¹, Kang Meng¹, Ying Li¹, Meng Wang¹, Qiang Liao², Zidong Wei¹, Minhua Shao³, Jianchuan Wang¹

1 School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
2 School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
3 School of Chemistry and Bioengineering, HongKong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

Received:2021-06-30 Revised:2021-11-02 Online:2022-02-25 Published:2022-01-28
Contact: Meng Wang,E-mail address:wmeng@cqu.edu.cn;Jianchuan Wang,E-mail address:jxw319@cqu.edu.cn
Supported by:
Thanks for the financial supports by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB1504500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22078031, 91834301, 21761162015), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, CQU (2020CDJQY-A032, 2020CDJLHZZ- 064), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (cstc2020jcyjmsxmX0637).

Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization

Jinyan Xi¹, Kang Meng¹, Ying Li¹, Meng Wang¹, Qiang Liao², Zidong Wei¹, Minhua Shao³, Jianchuan Wang¹

1 School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
2 School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China;
3 School of Chemistry and Bioengineering, HongKong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China

通讯作者: Meng Wang,E-mail address:wmeng@cqu.edu.cn;Jianchuan Wang,E-mail address:jxw319@cqu.edu.cn
基金资助:
Thanks for the financial supports by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2019YFB1504500), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22078031, 91834301, 21761162015), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities, CQU (2020CDJQY-A032, 2020CDJLHZZ- 064), the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (cstc2020jcyjmsxmX0637).

Abstract

Abstract: Reducing the loading of noble Pt-based catalyst is vital for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, severe mass transfer polarization loss resulting in fuel cell performance decline will be encountered in ultra-low Pt PEMFC. In this work, mild oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (mMWCNT) were adopted to construct the catalyst layer, and by varying the loading of carbon nanotubes, the catalyst layer structure was optimized. A high peak power density of 1.23 W·cm^-2 for the MEA with mMWCNT was obtained at an ultra-low loading of 120 μg·cm^-2 Pt/PtRu (both cathode and anode), which was 44.7% higher than that of MEA without mMWCNT. Better catalyst dispersion, low charge transfer resistance, more porous structure and high hydrophobicity of catalyst layer were ascribed for the reasons of the performance improvement.

Key words: Catalyst, Mass transfer, Optimization, Fuel cell, Ultra-low platinum, Carbon nanotubes

摘要： Reducing the loading of noble Pt-based catalyst is vital for the commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). However, severe mass transfer polarization loss resulting in fuel cell performance decline will be encountered in ultra-low Pt PEMFC. In this work, mild oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (mMWCNT) were adopted to construct the catalyst layer, and by varying the loading of carbon nanotubes, the catalyst layer structure was optimized. A high peak power density of 1.23 W·cm^-2 for the MEA with mMWCNT was obtained at an ultra-low loading of 120 μg·cm^-2 Pt/PtRu (both cathode and anode), which was 44.7% higher than that of MEA without mMWCNT. Better catalyst dispersion, low charge transfer resistance, more porous structure and high hydrophobicity of catalyst layer were ascribed for the reasons of the performance improvement.

关键词: Catalyst, Mass transfer, Optimization, Fuel cell, Ultra-low platinum, Carbon nanotubes

Jinyan Xi, Kang Meng, Ying Li, Meng Wang, Qiang Liao, Zidong Wei, Minhua Shao, Jianchuan Wang. Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization[J]. Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, 2022, 41(1): 473-479.

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Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization

Performance improvement of ultra-low Pt proton exchange membrane fuel cell by catalyst layer structure optimization

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