Issue 39, 2023

Fuel cell electrode degradation followed by identical location transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

Identical location transmission electron microscopy (IL-TEM) is a powerful technique that has previously been used to study degradation of catalyst materials for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) in half-cell environments. Here, we demonstrate that IL-TEM can be used to follow degradation at the top of the catalytic Pt/C layer in a real PEMFC on the atomic scale under operation. We find that during an accelerated stress test (AST), mimicking normal operation, Pt nanoparticles grow mainly by Ostwald ripening, while the carbon support is stable. Under AST mimicking start-up/shutdown conditions, the carbon support degrades mainly by loss of volume and collapse, which forces the Pt nanoparticles closer, promoting additional particle growth. The observed degradation correlates with the measured decrease in electrochemical performance for the respective AST. The results show the feasibility of performing IL-TEM imaging in PEMFCs under real-operating conditions, opening up the possibility for similar studies in other fully operational systems.

Graphical abstract: Fuel cell electrode degradation followed by identical location transmission electron microscopy

  • This article is part of the themed collection: #MyFirstJMCA

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Communication
Submitted
02 3 2023
Accepted
02 9 2023
First published
04 9 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023,11, 21029-21035

Fuel cell electrode degradation followed by identical location transmission electron microscopy

V. Shokhen, L. Strandberg, M. Skoglundh and B. Wickman, J. Mater. Chem. A, 2023, 11, 21029 DOI: 10.1039/D3TA01303K

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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