Tailoring the Membrane-Electrode Interface in PEM Fuel Cells: A Review and Perspective on Novel Engineering Approaches
Breitwieser M, Klingele M, Vierrath S, Zengerle R, Thiele S (2018)
Publication Type: Journal article, Review article
Publication year: 2018
Journal
Book Volume: 8
Article Number: 1701257
Journal Issue: 4
Abstract
The interface between the catalyst layer (CL) and the polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) in a fuel cell has substantial impact on its electrochemical performance. In consequence, there have been growing research activities to engineer this interface to improve the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). This review summarizes these novel approaches and compares the various techniques. Based on available fuel cell data in the literature, a quantitative comparison of relative improvements due to a micro- and nano-engineered PEM|CL interface is provided. This allows several conclusions: First, regardless of the applied method, a re-engineering of the PEM|CL interface leads to an improvement of power-determining parameters, such as mass transport resistances. The latter has hitherto not been clearly connected to the PEM|CL interface and is an important piece of information for future fuel cell development. Second, for patterned membrane surfaces, feature sizes of about 1–10 µm on the membrane surface seem to result in the most significant power density improvement. Third, an engineered PEMCL interface can contribute to extend the fuel cell durability due to enhanced adhesion and contact between the two layers. With this, novel membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) can be designed that enable significantly higher power densities compared conventional 2D-layer MEAs.
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Germany (DE)How to cite
APA:
Breitwieser, M., Klingele, M., Vierrath, S., Zengerle, R., & Thiele, S. (2018). Tailoring the Membrane-Electrode Interface in PEM Fuel Cells: A Review and Perspective on Novel Engineering Approaches. Advanced Energy Materials, 8(4). https://doi.org/10.1002/aenm.201701257
MLA:
Breitwieser, Matthias, et al. "Tailoring the Membrane-Electrode Interface in PEM Fuel Cells: A Review and Perspective on Novel Engineering Approaches." Advanced Energy Materials 8.4 (2018).
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