Modifying the Electrocatalyst-Ionomer Interface via Sulfonated Poly(ionic liquid) Block Copolymers to Enable High-Performance Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Yawei Li, Tim Van Cleve, Rui Sun, Ramchandra Gawas, Guanxiong Wang, Maureen Tang, Yossef A. Elabd, Joshua Snyder, K. C. Neyerlin and National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) electrodes with a 0.07 mg(Pt) cm(-2) Pt/Vulcan electrocatalyst loading, containing only a sulfonated poly(ionic liquid) block copolymer (SPILBCP) ionomer, were fabricated and achieved a ca. 2x enhancement of kinetic performance through the suppression of Pt surface oxidation. However, SPILBCP electrodes lost over 70% of their electrochemical active area at 30% RH because of poor ionomer network connectivity. To combat these effects, electrodes made with a mix of Nafion/SPILBCP ionomers were developed. Mixed Nafion/SPILBCP electrodes resulted in a substantial improvement in MEA performance across the kinetic and mass transport-limited regions. Notably, this is the first time that specific activity values determined from an MEA were observed to be on par with prior half-cell results for Nafion-free Pt/Vulcan systems. These findings present a prospective strategy to improve the overall performance of MEAs fabricated with surface accessible electrocatalysts, providing a pathway to tailor the local electrocatalyst/ionomer interface.
Modifying the Electrocatalyst-Ionomer Interface via Sulfonated Poly(ionic liquid) Block Copolymers to Enable High-Performance Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Creators
Yawei Li - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Tim Van Cleve - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Rui Sun - Texas A&M University
Ramchandra Gawas - Drexel University
Guanxiong Wang - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Maureen Tang - Drexel University
Yossef A. Elabd - Texas A&M University
Joshua Snyder - Drexel University
K. C. Neyerlin - National Renewable Energy Laboratory
National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
Publication Details
ACS energy letters, v 5(6), pp 1726-1731
Publisher
American Chemical Society; Washington, DC
Number of pages
6
Grant note
DE-AC36-08GO28308 / U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); United States Department of Energy (DOE)
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Fuel Cell Technologies Office (FCTO); United States Department of Energy (DOE)
Resource Type
Journal article
Language
English
Academic Unit
Chemical and Biological Engineering
Web of Science ID
WOS:000541766000002
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-85087522930
Other Identifier
991019168543704721
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