Nanostructure of ionomer in fuel cell electrodes by SANS
A polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell is an energy conversion device that is expected to replace internal combustion engines. One of the technical barriers for the wide commercialization of PEM fuel cells is their durability, in particular at the level of the electrode, which is made of platinum based catalyst nanoparticles supported onto carbon embeded in proton conducting polymer named ionomer. The degradation of ionomer during operation was postulated. However, this was not correlated to fuel cell performances and, overall, the ageing mechanisms are largely unknown. The proposed experiment aims at using SANS to evaluate the impact of aging on the nanostructure of the ionomer in the electrodes as well as its swelling ability as a function of water activity or Relative Humidity (RH). To assess the mostly unknown degradation mechanisms, we plan to systematically evaluate the impact of key parameters: the SANS measurements will be conducted ex-situ on a series of electrodes prepared using different composition and aged following distinct aging protocols. The gained knowledge will allow us to give recommendation in order to improve PEMFC performance and durability.
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MORIN Arnaud; CHABOT Florian; GEBEL Gerard; JACQMIN Laurent; LYONNARD Sandrine; MICOUD Fabrice; PORCAR Lionel; ROIRON Camille; ROSINI Sebastien; TOUDRET Pierre and VANDENBERGHE Florent. (2020). Nanostructure of ionomer in fuel cell electrodes by SANS. Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) doi:10.5291/ILL-DATA.9-12-595
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