Paper about Anode Catalyst Layer Published in Cell Reports Physical Science

Recently, Dr. Junfeng Zhang, Prof. Yin and Prof. Guiver from Tianjin University (China), as well as Xianguo Li from University of Waterloo (Canada) reported a self-adjusting catalyst layer with heterogeneous structure capable of smart water management in the anode catalyst layer (ACL) for anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cells.

Great progress has been achieved on anion exchange membrane (AEM) fuel cells with most efforts having been devoted to improve ion conductivity and AEM stability. Compared with proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), AEM fuel cells are more sensitive to the operating conditions, because the water (including that generated) in the anode catalyst layer (ACL) must diffuse back (inverse direction of ion transport) to the cathode catalyst layer for the oxygen reduction reaction. The design of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with smart water management can not only improve fuel cell performance in certain extreme operation conditions, but also possibly allow complete removal of the external humidification system.

TJU group designed a stratified and gradient nanopore structure of ACL with pore distribution in the range of 8 nm-150 nm from membrane side to gas diffusion layer (GDL), exhibiting interesting self-regulating moisture behavior (including adsorption, retention, and wanter removal). It can provide directed water transport due to the capillary effect, either towards the cathode where water is needed for reaction, or towards the GDL for effective water removal. The study is anticipated to provide a novel strategy for simplifying fuel cell systems to obtain MEAs with smart structure. This work has been published on Cell Reports Physical Science (Cell Press).

Link to article:

https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-physical-science/fulltext/S2666-3864(21)00067-9

By the School of Mechanical Engineering

Editor: Eva Yin