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Comparison of focused ion beam versus nano-scale X-ray computed tomography for resolving 3-D microstructures of porous fuel cell materials
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Comparison of focused ion beam versus nano-scale X-ray computed tomography for resolving 3-D microstructures of porous fuel cell materials

E.A. Wargo, T. Kotaka, Y. Tabuchi and E.C. Kumbur
Journal of power sources, v 241, pp 608-618
01 Nov 2013
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpowsour.2013.04.153
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel

Abstract

Computed tomography Focused ion beam Microstructure Nanotomography Polymer electrolyte fuel cell X-ray
Focused ion beam-scanning electron microscopy (FIB-SEM) and nano-scale X-ray computed tomography (nano-CT) have emerged as two popular nanotomography techniques for quantifying the 3-D microstructure of porous materials. The objective of this study is to assess the unique features and limitations of FIB-SEM and nano-CT in capturing the 3-D microstructure and structure-related transport properties of porous fuel cell materials. As a test case, a sample of a micro-porous layer used in polymer electrolyte fuel cells is analyzed to obtain 3-D microstructure datasets using these two nanotomography techniques. For quantitative comparison purposes, several key transport properties are determined for these two datasets, including the porosity, pore connectivity, tortuosity, structural diffusivity coefficient, and chord length (i.e., void size) distributions. The results obtained for both datasets are evaluated against each other and experimental data when available. Additionally, these two techniques are compared qualitatively in terms of the acquired images, image segmentation, and general systems operation. The particular advantages and disadvantages of both techniques are highlighted, along with suggestions for best practice. •Unique features and limitations of FIB-SEM and nano-CT techniques are compared.•A sample of MPL used in PEFC is selected for characterization and comparison.•Acquired images, segmentation and resulting 3D reconstructions are analyzed.•Structure-related properties calculated from these 3D datasets are compared.•Several items for consideration are highlighted to promote best practices.

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119 citations in Web of Science
133 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#7 Affordable and Clean Energy

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Collaboration types
Industry collaboration
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Chemistry, Physical
Electrochemistry
Energy & Fuels
Materials Science, Multidisciplinary
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