• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.57 no.4
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• pp.512-518
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• 2019

To develop a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with lower Pt loading and higher performance in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), it is an important research issue to understand interfacial structure of Pt/C catalyst and ionomer and design the catalyst layer structure. In this study, we prepared short-side-chain Nafion-based ionomer dispersion using propylene glycol (PG) as a solvent instead of water which is commonly used as a solvent for commercially available ionomers. Cathode catalyst layers with different ionomer content from 20 to 35 wt% were prepared using the ionomer dispersion for the fabrication of four different MEAs, and their fuel cell performance was evaluated. As the ionomer content increased to 35 wt%, the performance of the prepared MEAs increased proportionally, unlike the commercially available water-based ionomer, which exhibited an optimum at about 25 wt%. Small size micelles and slow evaporation of PG in the ionomer dispersion were effective in proton transfer by inducing the formation of a uniformly structured catalyst layer, but the low oxygen permeability problem of the PG-based ionomer film should be resolved to improve the MEA performance.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.171-179
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• 2015

Perfluorinated sulfonic acid ionomers (PFSAs) have been widely as solid electrolyte materials for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, since they exhibit excellent chemical durability under their harsh application conditions as well as good proton conductivity. Even PFSA materials, however, suffer from physical failures associated with repeated membrane swelling and deswelling, resulting in fairly reduced electrochemical lifetime. In this study, pore-filling membranes are prepared by impregnating a Nafion ionomer into the pore of a porous PTFE support film and their fundamental characteristics are evaluated. The developed pore-filling membranes exhibit extremely high proton conductivity of about $0.5S\;cm^{-1}@90^{\circ}C$ in liquid water.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.325-328
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• 2006

고분자 전해질 연료전지의 전극을 gradient catalyst coating 방법을 이용하여 제조하였다. 촉매 잉크제조 시 나피온 이오노머의 함침 구성비를 다르게 하여 조성 비율이 다른 gradient 구조를 갖도록 하여 전극을 제조하였다. Anode Cathode의 두 전극을 각각 나피온 함량비가 다른 두 개의 gradient 층구조의 촉매층으로 9:1, 8:2, 7:3, 6:4 비율의 조성비로 성능을 측정하였으며, 전극의 전기화학적 반응 면적을 알아보기 위해 순위전위법을 그리고 분극 저항(Polarization resistance) 변화를 알아보기 위해서는 0.7V에서 임피던스 측정법의 전기화학분석법으로 전극 제조법에 따른 성능변화를 확인하였다. 특히 Gradient catalyst coating 방법을 이용하여 제조한 MEA는 종래 방식의 MEA보다 high current $density(1000mA/cm^2)$이상에서 향상된 성능을 보였다.

• Journal of the Korean Electrochemical Society
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.50-55
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• 2011

To enhance the performance of a MEA (membrane electrode assembly) in a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), optimum contents of Nafion ionomer as electrolyte in the 20 and 40 wt% Pt/C used in electrodes were examined. Variety characterization techniques were applied to examine optimum Nafion contents: cell performance test, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). According to Pt wt% supported on carbon support, it has been observed that polarization, ohmic, and mass transfer resistances were changed so that the cell performance was significantly dependent on the content of Nafion ionomer. Optimum Nafion ionomer contents in the 20 wt% Pt/C and 40 wt% Pt/C were showed 35 wt% and 20 wt%, respectively. This is due to different surface area of the Pt/C catalyst, and formation of triple phase boundary seems to be affected by the Nafion contents.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.57-65
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• 2020

The purpose of this study was to compare the water channel morphology and the proton conductivity by changing the number of repeating units of the polymer backbone of PEMs, and to present a criterion for selecting an appropriate polymer model for MD simulation. In the model with the shortest polymer main chain, the movement of the main chain and the sulfonic acid group was observed to be large, but no change in the water channel morphology was found. In addition, due to the nature of the proton transport ability that is most affected by the water channel morphology, the proton conductivity did not show a significant correlation with the length of the polymer backbone. These results provide important information, particularly for the preparation of ionomers for binders. In general, a low molecular weight polymer electrolyte material is used for a binder ionomer. Since the movement of the main chain/sulfonic acid group is improved, it can play a role of enclosing the catalyst layer well. However, there is no change in its proton conducting performance. In conclusion, the preparation of ionomers for binders will require molecular weight and structure design with a focus on physical properties rather than proton transfer performance.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.05a
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• pp.95.2-95.2
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• 2011

In order to achieve high performance and low cost for commercial applications, the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), in which the electrochemical reactions actually occur, must be optimized. Expensive platinum is currently used as an electrochemical catalyst due to its high activity. Although various platinum alloys and non-platinum catalysts are under development, their stabilities and catalytic activities, especially in terms of the oxygen reduction (ORR), render them currently unsuitable for practical use. Therefore, it is important to decrease platinum loading by optimizing the catalysts and electrode microstructure. In this study, we prepared several different MEAs (non-uniform Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer loading electrode) which have dual catalyst layers to find the optimal Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer distribution in the electrodes. We changed Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer content in the layers to find the ideal composition of the binder and Pt/C in the electrode. For MEAs with various ionomer contents in the anodes and cathodes, the electrochemical activity (activation overpotential) and the mass transport properties (concentration overpotential) were analyzed and correlated with the single cell performance. The dual catalyst layers MEA showed higher cell performance than uniformly fabricated MEA, especially at the high current density region.

• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2011.11a
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• pp.87.1-87.1
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• 2011

For commercial applications, MEA development must be optimized in order to achieve high performance and low cost. There are many factors that affect the performance of MEA. Especially, the optimization of the method for preparing catalyst layer has great effect on the performance of MEA. Various methods have been used to prepare the catalyst layer of MEA. Among them, spraying method has a merit in that catalysis lay can be prepared with very flexible changes in catalyst layer as well as in the solvent composition of catalyst ink. In addition, in order to reduce the time required for manufacturing catalyst layer, an effort has been made to change the nozzle size and injection pressure of spray system. Further, the operation condition of spray system was changed in various ways in an effort to prepare optimum catalyst layer of MEA. Having optimized the operation condition of spraying system, comprehensive and diverse experiments were carried out concerning various factors that affect the performance of MEA. The present research report describes the results of more sub-categorized and more detailed experiments about the important factors (Nafion$^{(R)}$ ionomer, Relative humidity) which have been shown in previous experiments to exert greater effect on the performance of MEA.