Investigation of transport properties, microstructure, and thermal behavior of PEFC catalyst layers

Che Nan Sun, Karren L. More, Thomas A. Zawodzinski

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Several experimental techniques have been used to characterize the properties of ionomer in PFEC catalyst layers (CLs). NMR methods have been applied to determine the water motions at long-range (diffusion) and short-range (relaxation) in CLs. Our preliminary results suggest that the water diffusion in the ionomer phase is affected by the amount of catalyst particles (Pt/C) present in CLs. To further assess the factor(s) that might influence water diffusion in CLs, Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) has been conducted to investigate the dispersion of ionomer and catalyst particles in CLs. The composition effect on the CL structure will be discussed. In addition, thermal properties of CLs have been studied by modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC) in an attempt to reveal polymer-Pt/C interactions. When compared with the thermal behavior of bulk Nafion (Nafion-112), additional features are observed in the MDSC 'kinetic' component during heating process. The nature of this feature is currently under investigation.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPolymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells 10, PEFC 10
Pages1207-1215
Number of pages9
Edition1 PART 2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010
Event10th Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Symposium, PEFC 10 - 218th ECS Meeting - Las Vegas, NV, United States
Duration: Oct 10 2010Oct 15 2010

Publication series

NameECS Transactions
Number1 PART 2
Volume33
ISSN (Print)1938-5862
ISSN (Electronic)1938-6737

Conference

Conference10th Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Symposium, PEFC 10 - 218th ECS Meeting
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityLas Vegas, NV
Period10/10/1010/15/10

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Investigation of transport properties, microstructure, and thermal behavior of PEFC catalyst layers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this