Hack, J;
Heenan, TMM;
Iacoviello, F;
Mansor, N;
Meyer, Q;
Shearing, P;
Brandon, N;
(2018)
A Structure and Durability Comparison of Membrane Electrode Assembly Fabrication Methods: Self-Assembled Versus Hot-Pressed.
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
, 165
(6)
F3045-F3052.
10.1149/2.0051806jes.
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Abstract
The most common means of fabricating membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) involves a hot-press step. The conditions used to perform the hot-press impacts the performance and durability of the fuel cell. However, the hot-press process is not essential for achieving operational MEAs and some practitioners dispense with the hot-press stage altogether by using a self-assembled approach. By performing the integration of the components in-situ during fuel cell assembly, there is the potential to lower the cost and time of manufacture. This study investigates the electrochemical performance and mechanical microstructure of MEAs that were either hot-pressed or self-assembled (non-hot-pressed) and compared at beginning-of-test (BOT) and end-of-test (EOT), following accelerated stress testing. Hot-pressed and self-assembled MEAs were found to show negligible difference in their performance and almost identical performance degradation. X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) showed distinct differences in the microstructure of the electrodes. In addition to a crack network in the catalyst layer, the self-assembled samples exhibit indentations that were not present in the hot-pressed sample. It was concluded that in-situ assembly of MEAs could be a suitable means of fabricating PEFC MEAs.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | A Structure and Durability Comparison of Membrane Electrode Assembly Fabrication Methods: Self-Assembled Versus Hot-Pressed |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1149/2.0051806jes |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0051806jes |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
| Keywords: | Science & Technology, Physical Sciences, Technology, Electrochemistry, Materials Science, Coatings & Films, Materials Science, PEM FUEL-CELLS, RAY COMPUTED-TOMOGRAPHY, GAS-DIFFUSION LAYERS, WATER DISTRIBUTION, MICROPOROUS LAYER, AC-IMPEDANCE, ULTRA-LOW, PERFORMANCE, CATALYST, VISUALIZATION |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Chemical Engineering |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10049226 |
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