Water management improvement in PEM fuel cells via addition of PDMS or APTES polymers to the catalyst layer

Water management is one of the obstacles in the development and commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Sufficient humidification of the membrane directly affects the PEM fuel cell performance. Therefore, 2 different hydrophobic polymers, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTES), were tested at different percentages (5, 10, and 20 wt.%) in the catalyst layer. The solution was loaded onto the surface of a 25 BC gas diffusion layer (GDL) via the spraying method. The performance of the obtained fuel cells was compared with the performance of the commercial catalyst. Characterizations of each surface, including different amounts of PDMS and APTES, were performed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) analyses. Molecular bond characterization was examined via Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis and surface hydrophobicity was measured via contact angle measurements. The performance of the fuel cells was evaluated at the PEM fuel cell test station and the 2 hydrophobic polymers were compared. Surfaces containing APTES were found to be more hydrophobic. Fuel cells with PDMS performed better when compared to those with APTES. Fuel cells with 5wt.% APTES with a current density of 321.31 mA/cm ² and power density of 0.191 W/cm ² , and 10wt.% PDMS with a current density of 344.52 mA/cm ² and power density of 0.205 W/cm ² were the best performing fuel cells at 0.6V.     

Sulfonated hydrocarbon graft architectures for cation exchange membranes

A synthetic strategy to hydrocarbon graft architectures prepared from a commercial polysulfone and aimed as ion exchange membrane material is proposed. Polystyrene is grafted from a polysulfone macroinitiator by atom transfer radical polymerization, and subsequently sulfonated with acetyl sulfate to various degrees. Series of grafting densities and graft lengths are prepared, and membranes are solvent cast from DMSO. The membrane properties in aqueous environments are evaluated from their water swelling behavior, and their thermal properties and stability are investigated by thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry.     

旋转磁场对质子交换膜燃料电池工作性能的影响

外加磁场可以提高PEM（Proton Exchange Membrane,质子交换膜）燃料电池的工作性能,本文通过在PEM燃料电池表面分别附加正方形梯度磁场、同极性组合圆柱形磁场以及异极性组合圆柱形磁场,分析旋转磁场、静态磁场以及未加磁场3种磁场环境下燃料电池的输出功率密度变化. 研究发现,外部磁场的分布规律不同,磁场的变动对燃料电池的影响也不相同,尤其是异极性组合磁场,旋转的磁场使燃料电池的最大功率密度提高了21.27%,明显高于加载静态磁场时提高的11.70%. 旋转磁场产生的效果与磁场旋转速度有关,提高转速有利于增强磁场对燃料电池工作性能的影响,当转速为30 r·min^-1时影响最大,随着转速进一步提高,影响效果逐渐变差。     

Reducing the Ir−O Coordination Number in Anodic Catalysts based on IrOx Nanoparticles towards Enhanced Proton-exchange-membrane Water Electrolysis

Due to the robust oxidation conditions in strong acid oxygen evolution reaction (OER), developing an OER electrocatalyst with high efficiency remains challenging in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzer. Recent theoretical research suggested that reducing the coordination number of Ir−O is feasible to reduce the energy barrier of the rate-determination step, potentially accelerating the OER. Inspired by this, we experimentally verified the Ir−O coordination number's role at model catalysts, then synthesized low-coordinated IrO_x nanoparticles toward a durable PEM water electrolyzer. We first conducted model studies on commercial rutile-IrO₂ using plasma-based defect engineering. The combined in situ X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis and computational studies clarify why the decreased coordination numbers increase catalytic activity. Next, under the model studies’ guidelines, we explored a low-coordinated Ir-based catalyst with a lower overpotential of 231 mV@10 mA cm⁻² accompanied by long durability (100 h) in an acidic OER. Finally, the assembled PEM water electrolyzer delivers a low voltage (1.72 V@1 A cm⁻²) as well as excellent stability exceeding 1200 h (@1 A cm⁻²) without obvious decay. This work provides a unique insight into the role of coordination numbers, paving the way for designing Ir-based catalysts for PEM water electrolyzers.     

Sonoelectrochemical one-pot synthesis of Pt – Carbon black nanocomposite PEMFC electrocatalyst

Simultaneous electrocatalytic Pt-nanoparticle synthesis and decoration of Vulcan XC-72 carbon black substrate was achieved in a novel one-step-process, combining galvanostatic pulsed electrodeposition and pulsed ultrasonication with high power, low-frequency (20 kHz) ultrasound. Aqueous chloroplatinic acid precursor baths, as well as carbon black suspensions in the former, were examined and decoration was proven by a combination of characterization methods, namely: dynamic light scattering, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy with EDX-analysis and cyclic voltammetry. In particular, PVP was shown to have a beneficial stabilizing effect against free nanoparticle aggregation, ensuring narrow size distributions of the nanoparticles synthesized, but is also postulated to prevent the establishment of a strong metal-substrate interaction. Current pulse amplitude was identified as the most critical nanoparticle size-determining parameters, while only small size particles, under 10 nm, appeared to be attached to carbon black.     

便携式200W至500W质子交换膜燃料电池电源系统研制

本文详细介绍了便携式质子交换膜燃料电池电源系统 4个组成部分的研制 :1 )燃料电池堆 ;2 )空气供应 ;3 )氢源 ;4 )散热与控制并与其他储能化学电源的性能特点作了比较 .实验表明 ,本电源系统性能优异 ,稳定可靠     

利用pH-电位-稳定性图分析含水聚合物电解质膜电化学反应器中贵金属和阀金属元素的稳定性

根据对含水聚合物电解质膜(PEM)电化学反应器中各种界面电位变化范围的分析, 可以推知各种此类电化学反应器中的固/水界面电位的变化范围. 据此可根据各种材料的pH-电位图构筑pH-电位-稳定性图, 用于分析这类反应器中各类材料的稳定性. 介绍了构筑pH-电位-稳定性图的方法, 并根据各种贵金属元素和阀金属元素的pH-电位-稳定性图, 分析了它们在各类含水PEM电化学反应器中用作催化材料或结构材料时的稳定性.     

用于燃料电池的磺化聚芳醚砜质子交换膜材料的直接合成与性能研究

将磺化二氯二苯砜(SDCDPS)、二氯二苯砜(DCDPS)与4,4′-联苯酚(BP)通过亲核缩聚反应得到一系列具有不同磺化度的磺化聚芳醚砜(SPAES)共聚物.通过FT-IR,TGA和DSC等分析方法对其结构及性能进行表征.并用透射电镜对其内部形态进行分析,建立了结构与性能之间的关系.研究了不同磺化度对膜性能的影响.结果表明,聚合物中磺酸基团的增多导致了磺化聚芳醚砜膜的吸水率、离子交换容量、质子传导率和甲醇渗透系数的增加.通过对膜的综合性能评价发现,磺化度为0.8的磺化聚芳醚砜膜在80℃时的质子传导率为0.116S/cm,100℃时的质子传导率为0.126S/cm,均高于Nafion117膜(0.114S/cm和0.117S/cm),且甲醇渗透系数为8.4×10-7cm2/s,远远低于Nafion117膜(2.1×10-6cm2/s).     

Preliminary simulation studies on a cylindrical PEM scanner using GATE

In this paper, we investigate the performance of a cylindrical positron emission mammography （PEM） by simulation, in order to estimate its feasibility before implementation. A well-developed simulation package, Geant4 Application for Tomographic Emission （GATE）, is used to simulate the scanner geometry and physical processes. The simulated PEM scanner is composed of 64 blocks axially arranged in 4 rings with an axial field-of-view （AFOV） of 12.8 cm and 16.6 cm in diameter. For each block, there is a 16×16 array of 2 mm×2 mm×15 mm lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate （LYSO） crystals. In the simulated measurements, the spatial resolution is at the center of the FOV of 1.73±0.07 mm （radial） and 1.81±0.08 mm （tangential）, but of 4.83±0.09 mm （radial） and 4.37±0.07 mm （tangential） while 5 cm off the center. The central point source sensitivity （ACS） is 4.04% （1.50 Mcps/mCi） at an energy window of 350-650 keV. Moreover, the capillary and cylindrical sources are simulated coupled to breast phantoms for the scatter fraction （SF） and Noise Equivalent Count Rate （NECR） test. For a breast phantom with a 350-650 keV energy window, SF may reach the highest 32.95%, while NECR is degraded down to the lowest 255.71 kcps/mCi. Finally, we model a breast phantom embedded with two spheres of different activities. The reconstructed image gives good results despite a bit of difference in image contrast. Further, the image quality will be improved by scatter and random correction. All these test results indicate the feasibility of this PEM system for breast cancer detection.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Sulfonated Hybrid Congo Red Membranes from Chlorofunctionalized Silsesquioxanes for Fuel Cell Application

A new sulfonated copolymers containing congo red groups were synthesized as a potential electrolyte for high temperature PEFCs. The resulting cross-linked sulfonated hybrid congo red membranes showed greatly improved water stability in comparison with the uncrosslinked ones while high proton conductivity was maintained. sulfonated membranes have been tested with respect to fuel cell performance. Short term fuel cell test for 100 hr gave a stable performance. These membranes are less expensive compared to Nafion. New sulfonated proton exchange composites membranes were used biological fuel cells. Molasses which is the waste of sugar factory, was used in anode as fuel and different bacteria species was sowing. Potential change was reported in biological fuel cells.