Experimental Study on the Catalyst-Coated Membrane of a Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer

Amadeu Gomes Rocha, Rui Ferreira (), Daniela Falcão and Alexandra M. F. R. Pinto ()
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Amadeu Gomes Rocha: CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Rui Ferreira: CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Daniela Falcão: CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Alexandra M. F. R. Pinto: CEFT—Transport Phenomena Research Center, Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-16

Abstract: Proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology may regulate the electrical grid connected to intermittent power sources. The growing pace of R&D in alternative components is widening manufacturing methods and testing procedures across the literature. This turns the comparison between performances into a more laborious task, especially for those starting research in this area, increasing the importance of testing components accessible to all. In this study, an electrochemical characterization is performed on a commercial single-cell PEM water electrolyzer with commercial catalyst-coated membranes (CCMs) and one prepared in-house. Two membrane thicknesses and the effect of different catalysts are assessed. The thicker membrane, Nafion 117, operates with 5% greater ohmic overvoltage than the thinner Nafion 115, resulting in up to 1.5% higher voltage for the former membrane. Equivalent Ir black CCMs provided by different suppliers and one prepared in-house perform similarly. Regarding the influence of the anode catalyst, Ir black, IrRuOx and IrRuOx/Pt have similar performance, whereas IrOx has worse performance. Compared with Ir black, the mix of IrRuOx/Pt operated with 1.5% lower voltage at 2.6 A cm −2 , whereas IrRuOx performed with 2% lower voltage at 0.3 A cm −2 . A temporary increase in performance is observed when the anode is purged with hydrogen gas.

Keywords: PEM water electrolysis; catalyst-coated membrane; electrochemical characterization; oxygen evolution reaction catalysts (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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