Modeling development on the meso-scale reacting transport phenomena in proton exchange membrane fuel cells

The catalyst layer （CL） of proton exchange mem-brane fuel cell （PEMFC） involves various particles and pores in meso-scale, which has an important effect on the mass, charge （proton and electron） and heat transport coupled with the electrochemical reactions. The coarse-grained molecular dynamics （CG-MD） method is employed as a meso-scale structure reconstruction technique to mimic the self-organization phenomena in the fabrication steps of a CL. The meso-scale structure obtained at the equilibrium state is further analyzed by molecular dynamic （MD） software to provide the necessary microscopic parameters for understanding of multi-scale and-physics processes in CLs. The primary pore size distribution （PSD） and active platinum （Pt） surface areas are also calculated and then compared with the experiments. In addition, we also highlight the implementation method to combine microscopic elementary kinetic reaction schemes with the CG-MD approaches to provide insight into the reactions in CLs. The concepts from CG modeling with particle hydrodynamics （SPH） and the problems on coupling of SPH with finite element modeling （FEM） methods are further outlined and discussed to understand the effects of the meso-scale transport phenomena in fuel cells.

Atomic layer deposition of ultrathin layered TiO_2 on Pt/C cathode catalyst for extended durability in polymer electrolyte fuel cells

This study shows the preparation of a TiO2 coated Pt/C（TiO2/Pt/C） by atomic layer deposition（ALD）,and the examination of the possibility for TiO2/Pt/C to be used as a durable cathode catalyst in polymer electrolyte fuel cells（PEFCs）. Cyclic voltammetry results revealed that TiO2/Pt/C catalyst which has 2 nm protective layer showed similar activity for the oxygen reduction reaction compared to Pt/C catalysts and they also had good durability. TiO2/Pt/C prepared by 10 ALD cycles degraded 70% after 2000 Accelerated degradation test, while Pt/C corroded 92% in the same conditions. TiO2 ultrathin layer by ALD is able to achieve a good balance between the durability and activity, leading to TiO2/Pt/C as a promising cathode catalyst for PEFCs. The mechanism of the TiO2 protective layer used to prevent the degradation of Pt/C is discussed.

Ionic liquids in electrocatalysis

The performance of an electrocatalyst, which is needed e.g. for key energy conversion reactions such as hydrogen evolution, oxygen reduction or CO2 reduction, is determined not only by the inherent structure of active sites but also by the properties of the interfacial structures at catalytic surfaces. Ionic liquids（ILs）, as a unique class of metal salts with melting point below 100 ℃, present themselves as ideal modulators for manipulations of the interfacial structures. Due to their excellent properties such as good chemical stability, high ionic conductivity, wide electrochemical windows and tunable solvent properties the performance of electrocatalysts can be substantially improved through ILs. In the current minireview, we highlight the critical role of the IL phase at the microenvironments created by the IL, the liquid electrolyte, catalytic nanoparticles and/or support materials, by detailing the promotional effect of IL in electrocatalysis as reaction media, binders, and surface modifiers. Updated exemplary applications of IL in electrocatalysis are given and moreover, the latest developments of IL modified electrocatalysts following the ＂Solid Catalyst with Ionic Liquid Layer（SCILL）＂ concept are presented.

Nano-Morphology of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Catalyst Layer Imaging, Reconstruction and Analysis

The oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in the cathode catalyst layer （CCL） of polymer electrolyte fuel cells （PEFC） is one of the major causes of performance loss during operation. In addition, the CCL is the most expensive component due to the use of a Pt catalyst. Apart from the ORR itself, the species transport to and from the reactive sites determines the performance of the PEFC. The effective transport properties of the species in the CCL depend on its nanostructure. Therefore a three-dimensional reconstruction of the CCL is required. A series of two-dimensional images was obtained from focused ion beam- scanning electron microscope （FIB-SEM） imaging and a segmentation method for the two-dimensional images has been developed. The pore size distribution （PSD） was calculated for the three-dimensional geometry. The influence of the alignment and the anisotropic pixel size on the PSD has been investigated. Pores were found in the range between 5 nm and 205 nm. Evaluation of the Knudsen number showed that gas transport in the CCL is governed by the transition flow regime. The liquid water transport can be described within continuum hydrodynamics by including suitable slip flow boundary conditions.