Abstract
Ionomer electrode binders are important materials for polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells and electrolyzers and have a profound impact on cell performance. Herein, we report the effect of two different types of high-temperature (HT) ionomers, characterized as thin films (∼10 nm), on hydrogen oxidation/evolution reaction (HOR/HER) kinetics and hydrogen permeability using interdigitated electrode (IDE) platforms decorated with nanoscale platinum electrocatalysts. The two different ionomers studied were poly(tetraflurostyrene phosphonic acid-co-pentafluorostyrene) (PTFSPA) and quaternary benzyl pyridinium poly(arylene ether sulfone) imbibed with phosphoric acid (QPPSf-H3PO4). The reaction kinetics and limiting current values observed with thin film ionomers on IDEs were commensurate to the values observed in electrochemical hydrogen pumps (ECHPs) that use the ionomers as electrode binders. Using PTFSPA as the binder, an HT-PEM ECHP showed 1 A cm-2 at 55 mV when using 2 mgPt cm-2 in the membrane electrode assembly.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4228-4234 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Materials Advances |
| Volume | 2 |
| Issue number | 13 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jul 7 2021 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) under the Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) Award Number DE-EE0009101. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Department of Energy or the United States Government. We thank Dr Rafel Cueto for assisting us with TGA measurements. We acknowledge the use of the LSU Shared Instrumentation, NMR, and Nanofabrication Facilities.