Abstract
Better performance of and higher electrocatalyst utilization in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells equipped with thin film electrodes is achieved by exploiting pore forming additives in the electrode recipe formulation. Preparing the membrane–electrode assembly by a hot spraying procedure already provides 35% porosity. Additional coarse porosity is obtained by adding pore formers to the electrocatalyst slurry which is used for the hot spraying process. This allows for a better access of oxygen from air to the depth of the cathode. For air operation at ambient pressure and low catalyst loading of 0.15mgPtcm-2 a current density of 200mAcm-2 at 0.7V cell voltage can be obtained with such electrodes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
S. Birkle, R. Kircher, C. Nölscher, H. Voigt, B. Ganser and B. Höhlein, Energ. wirtsch. Tagesfr. 7 (1994) 441–8.
R. Mosdale, S. Gamburzev and S. Srinivasan, in Extended abstracts Vol. 95–2 (Oct. 1995), The Electrochemical Society, NJ, pp. 1031-2.
M. S. Wilson and S. Gottesfeld, J. Appl. Electrochem. 22, (1992) 1–7.
M. S. Wilson, US Patent 5 234 777 (1993).
Idem, US Patent 5 211 984 (1993).
M. S. Wilson and S. Gottesfeld, J. Electrochem. Soc. 139 (1992) L28-L30.
I. D. Raistrick, U. S. Patent 4 876 115 (1989).
A. J. Appleby and F. R. Foulkes, ‘Fuel Cell Handbook’, Van Nostrand, New York (1989), chapter 9.
T. E. Springer, T. A. Zawodzinski, M. S. Wilson and S. Gottesfeld, J. Electrochem. Soc. 143, (1996) 587–99.
S. Ahn, B. J. Tatarchuk, ibid. 142 (1995) 4169–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fischer, A., Jindra, J. & Wendt, H. Porosity and catalyst utilization of thin layer cathodes in air operated PEM-fuel cells. Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 28, 277–282 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003259531775
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003259531775