Suter, TAM;
Clancy, AJ;
Carrero, NR;
Heitzmann, M;
Guetaz, L;
Shearing, PR;
Mattevi, C;
... Brett, DJL; + view all
(2021)
Scalable sacrificial templating to increase porosity and platinum utilisation in graphene-based polymer electrolyte fuel cell electrodes.
Nanomaterials
, 11
(10)
, Article 2530. 10.3390/nano11102530.
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Abstract
Polymer electrolyte fuel cells hold great promise for a range of applications but require advances in durability for widespread commercial uptake. Corrosion of the carbon support is one of the main degradation pathways; hence, corrosion-resilient graphene has been widely suggested as an alternative to traditional carbon black. However, the performance of bulk graphene-based electrodes is typically lower than that of commercial carbon black due to their stacking effects. This article reports a simple, scalable and non-destructive method through which the pore structure and platinum utilisation of graphene-based membrane electrode assemblies can be significantly improved. Urea is incorporated into the catalyst ink before deposition, and is then simply removed from the catalyst layer after spraying by submerging the electrode in water. This additive hinders graphene restacking and increases porosity, resulting in a significant increase in Pt utilisation and current density. This technique does not require harsh template etching and it represents a pathway to significantly improve graphene-based electrodes by introducing hierarchical porosity using scalable liquid processes.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Scalable sacrificial templating to increase porosity and platinum utilisation in graphene-based polymer electrolyte fuel cell electrodes |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3390/nano11102530 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102530 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Keywords: | fuel cells; graphene; porosity; electrode structure; spacers |
| 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 UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Chemistry UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10135961 |
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