Gas diffusion electrodes containing sulfonated polyether ionomers for PEFCs

Alexis B. Béléké; Kenji Miyatake; Hiroyuki Uchida; Masahiro Watanabe

doi:10.1016/j.electacta.2007.08.054

Gas diffusion electrodes containing sulfonated polyether ionomers for PEFCs

Alexis B. Béléké, Kenji Miyatake, Hiroyuki Uchida, Masahiro Watanabe^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) containing sulfonated polyether (SPE) ionomers as proton conducting binder have been prepared and evaluated in H₂/O₂ polymer electrolyte fuel cells. An autoclave treatment has been applied for the first time to a hydrocarbon ionomer for the preparation of GDEs. The GDEs worked well as anode without practical overpotential up to 800 mA/cm² of the current density. As cathode, the GDEs showed significant dependence on the SPE content and its ion exchange capacity (IEC). Higher catalyst utilization was achieved for the GDEs with higher SPE content due to enhanced proton conduction. Cyclic voltammetry implied higher catalyst utilization of the SPE-based GDEs than that of the conventional Nafion^®-based GDEs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed that the SPE ionomer coated uniformly on the surface of Pt/carbon black catalysts. Humidification conditions affect proton conductivity and swelling of the SPE ionomer and thus were crucial for the cathode performance. SPE ionomer with medium IEC (2.17 meq/g) served best in GDEs in terms of catalyst utilization.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1972-1978
Number of pages	7
Journal	Electrochimica Acta
Volume	53
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2007.08.054
Publication status	Published - 2007 Dec 31
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Catalyst layer
Gas diffusion electrodes
Ionomers
PEFC
Sulfonated polyethers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Chemical Engineering(all)
Electrochemistry

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10.1016/j.electacta.2007.08.054

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title = "Gas diffusion electrodes containing sulfonated polyether ionomers for PEFCs",

abstract = "Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) containing sulfonated polyether (SPE) ionomers as proton conducting binder have been prepared and evaluated in H2/O2 polymer electrolyte fuel cells. An autoclave treatment has been applied for the first time to a hydrocarbon ionomer for the preparation of GDEs. The GDEs worked well as anode without practical overpotential up to 800 mA/cm2 of the current density. As cathode, the GDEs showed significant dependence on the SPE content and its ion exchange capacity (IEC). Higher catalyst utilization was achieved for the GDEs with higher SPE content due to enhanced proton conduction. Cyclic voltammetry implied higher catalyst utilization of the SPE-based GDEs than that of the conventional Nafion{\textregistered}-based GDEs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed that the SPE ionomer coated uniformly on the surface of Pt/carbon black catalysts. Humidification conditions affect proton conductivity and swelling of the SPE ionomer and thus were crucial for the cathode performance. SPE ionomer with medium IEC (2.17 meq/g) served best in GDEs in terms of catalyst utilization.",

keywords = "Catalyst layer, Gas diffusion electrodes, Ionomers, PEFC, Sulfonated polyethers",

author = "B{\'e}l{\'e}k{\'e}, {Alexis B.} and Kenji Miyatake and Hiroyuki Uchida and Masahiro Watanabe",

note = "Funding Information: This work was partly supported by MEXT Japan through the fund for Leading Project “Next Generation Fuel Cells” and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18750167).",

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AU - Béléké, Alexis B.

AU - Miyatake, Kenji

AU - Uchida, Hiroyuki

AU - Watanabe, Masahiro

N1 - Funding Information: This work was partly supported by MEXT Japan through the fund for Leading Project “Next Generation Fuel Cells” and a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (18750167).

PY - 2007/12/31

Y1 - 2007/12/31

N2 - Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) containing sulfonated polyether (SPE) ionomers as proton conducting binder have been prepared and evaluated in H2/O2 polymer electrolyte fuel cells. An autoclave treatment has been applied for the first time to a hydrocarbon ionomer for the preparation of GDEs. The GDEs worked well as anode without practical overpotential up to 800 mA/cm2 of the current density. As cathode, the GDEs showed significant dependence on the SPE content and its ion exchange capacity (IEC). Higher catalyst utilization was achieved for the GDEs with higher SPE content due to enhanced proton conduction. Cyclic voltammetry implied higher catalyst utilization of the SPE-based GDEs than that of the conventional Nafion®-based GDEs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed that the SPE ionomer coated uniformly on the surface of Pt/carbon black catalysts. Humidification conditions affect proton conductivity and swelling of the SPE ionomer and thus were crucial for the cathode performance. SPE ionomer with medium IEC (2.17 meq/g) served best in GDEs in terms of catalyst utilization.

AB - Gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) containing sulfonated polyether (SPE) ionomers as proton conducting binder have been prepared and evaluated in H2/O2 polymer electrolyte fuel cells. An autoclave treatment has been applied for the first time to a hydrocarbon ionomer for the preparation of GDEs. The GDEs worked well as anode without practical overpotential up to 800 mA/cm2 of the current density. As cathode, the GDEs showed significant dependence on the SPE content and its ion exchange capacity (IEC). Higher catalyst utilization was achieved for the GDEs with higher SPE content due to enhanced proton conduction. Cyclic voltammetry implied higher catalyst utilization of the SPE-based GDEs than that of the conventional Nafion®-based GDEs. Scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) revealed that the SPE ionomer coated uniformly on the surface of Pt/carbon black catalysts. Humidification conditions affect proton conductivity and swelling of the SPE ionomer and thus were crucial for the cathode performance. SPE ionomer with medium IEC (2.17 meq/g) served best in GDEs in terms of catalyst utilization.

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KW - Ionomers

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KW - Sulfonated polyethers

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Gas diffusion electrodes containing sulfonated polyether ionomers for PEFCs

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