Constructing a Multifunctional Interface between Membrane and Porous Transport Layer for Water Electrolyzers

ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, vol. 13, pp. 16182–16196

Abstract

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide The cell performance and durability of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers are limited by the surface passivation of titanium-based porous transport layers (PTLs). In order to ensure stable performance profiles over time, large amounts (≥1 mg·cm –2 ) of noble metals (Au, Pt, Ir) are most widely used to coat titanium-based PTLs. However, their high cost is still a major obstacle toward commercialization and widespread application. In this paper, we assess different loadings of iridium, ranging from 0.005 to 0.05 mg·cm –2 in titanium PTLs, that consequently affect the investment costs of PEM water electrolyzers. Concerning a reduction in the precious metal costs, we found that Ir as a protective layer with a loading of 0.025 mg·cm –2 on the PTLs would be sufficient to achieve the same cell performance as PTLs with a higher Ir loading. This Ir loading is a 40-fold reduction over the Au or Pt loading typically used for protective layers in current commercial PEM water electrolyzers. We show that the Ir protective layer here not only decreases the Ohmic resistance significantly, which is the largest part of the gain in performance, but moreover, the oxygen evolution reaction activity of the iridium layer makes it promising as a cost-effective catalyst layer. Our work also confirms that the proper construction of a multifunctional interface between a membrane and a PTL indeed plays a crucial role in guaranteeing the superior performance and efficiency of electrochemical devices.

Authors 7

1. Chang Liu Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

2. Klaus Wippermann

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

3. Marcin Rasinski

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institut für Energie- und Klimaforschung—Plasmaphysik (IEK-4), Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

4. Yanpeng Suo Aachen

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

5. Meital Shviro

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

6. Marcelo Carmo corresponding

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Queen's University

   Affiliation as printed

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany

   Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada

7. Werner Lehnert Aachen Faculty of Mechanical Engineering

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany

   Institute of Energy and Climate Research, IEK-14: Electrochemical Process Engineering, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 52425 Jülich, Germany