Abstract
A series of SiO2 modified Vulcan XC-72 support materials were prepared to investigate the effect of silica modification on the durability of the catalysts layer of Polymer Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC). XRD, TGA, BET, DLS, EDX and TEM were used to examine structural and microstructural properties. The performance of the catalysts layers were evaluated using a single cell operating at 60°C under fully humidified H2 and O2 purge. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) experiments were carried out to observe the impedance behavior of the MEAs. The MEAs were cycled between 0.6V to 1.2V for 24 hours at 20 mV/s (1440 cycles) under hydrogen and nitrogen purge to conduct Accelerated Durability Tests (ADTs). The modification of Vulcan XC-72 was found to be an effective way to improve both the performance and the durability of the catalyst. The MEA with 22.9 wt% SiO2 content showed 13 times less performance loss than that of the MEA prepared with commercial catalyst after ADTs.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 111-120 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | International Journal of Renewable Energy Research |
Volume | 5 |
Issue number | 1 |
Publication status | Published - 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |