Determination of active surface area, gas permeability, and mass transport resistance in fuel cell catalyst layers

Gas transport in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells is of increasing interest since low gas crossover is desired in the membrane, however high gas transport is desired in the catalyst layer where ionomer is present (and is typically similar in chemical structure to the membrane). This project will investigate the permeability of oxygen, nitrogen, and helium gases through a series of polymer materials which are candidates as membranes and ionomers to see how processing techniques, additive usage, and accelerated stress tests impact resulting gas transport properties. In addition, the effective surface area of platinum in the catalyst layer, which is impacted by the ionomer content, will be determined for a series of catalyst layers prepared at the company. The materials used and processing techniques are expected to change the accessible surface area which is an important factor in maximizing expensive catalyst utilization. TO BE CONT’D

Faculty Supervisor:

Gary Leach

Student:

Partner:

Ionomr Innovations Inc;Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp

Discipline:

Physics

Sector:

Manufacturing; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Simon Fraser University

Program: