Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T07:27:36.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Performance and kinetics of Pt–CNT catalyst electrodes in a PEM fuel cell

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2012

Ayo Samuel Afolabi ,
Ambali Saka Abdulkareem ,
Sunny Esayegbemu Iyuke  and
Hendrick Christoffel Van Zyl Pienaar
Ayo Samuel Afolabi*
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, Johannesburg, South Africa
Ambali Saka Abdulkareem
Affiliation:
Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida 1710, Johannesburg, South Africa
Sunny Esayegbemu Iyuke
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
Hendrick Christoffel Van Zyl Pienaar
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Institute of Applied Electronics, Vaal University of Technology, Vanderbijlpark 1900, South Africa
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This study investigated the performance of membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabricated with various loadings of platinum catalyst on carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and sulfonated membrane at constant conditions of duration, temperature and pressure. The fabricated MEA was tested in a single proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell unit using hydrogen and oxygen as fuel and oxidant gases respectively. The results obtained show that the performance of the MEA in the cell improves with increase in loading of the catalyst on the electrodes. The results obtained on kinetics of the fuel cell indicate that the MEA samples fabricated with 30 and 40 wt% Pt catalyst electrodes conform to the Tafel equation whereas the remaining MEA fabricated with 10 and 20 wt% catalyst samples do not obey the Tafel equation due to large values of their overpotential. Hirschenhofer and Tafel equations were used to model the performance of the catalyst electrodes in the cell and the simulated voltage obtained from the former showed better conformity with the experimental voltage than the latter.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 27 , Issue 11 , 14 June 2012 , pp. 1497 - 1505
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Li, X.: Principles of Fuel Cells (Taylor & Francis Group, Great Britain, 2006) pp. 5–403.Google Scholar
2.Arico, A.S., Shukla, A.K., Kim, H., Park, S., Min, M., and Antonucci, V.: An XPS study on oxidation states of Pt and its alloys with Co and Cr and its relevance to electroreduction of oxygen. Appl. Surf. Sci. 172, 33–40 (2001).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3.Thomassen, M., Borresen, B., Scott, K., and Tunold, R.: A computational simulation of a hydrogen/chlorine single fuel cell. J. Power Sources 157, 271–283 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Gangeri, M., Centi, G., La Malfa, A., Perathoner, S., Vieira, R., Pham-Huu, C., and Ledoux, M.J.: Electrocatalytic performances of nanostructured platinum-carbon materials. Catal. Today 102–103, 50–57 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5.Siegel, N.P.: Development and validation of a computational model for a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. Ph.D. Thesis, Virginia Polytechnics Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, 2003.Google Scholar
6.Choi, W., Howze, J.W., and Enjeti, P.: Fuel-cell-powered uninterrupted power supply system: Design considerations. J. Power Sources 157, 311–317 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7.Hirschenhofer, J.H., Stauffer, D.B., and Engleman, R.R.: Fuel Cells, A Handbook (Revision 3) (Gilbert/Commonwealth, Inc., U.S. Department of Energy, Morgantown Energy Technology Center, Morgantown, WV, 1994). DOE/METC-94/1006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Larminie, J. and Dicks, A.: Fuel Cell Systems Explained (John Wiley & Sons Ltd., Chichester, England, 2001) pp. 1–27.Google Scholar
9.Keith, L., Meiser, J.H., and Sanctuary, B.C.: Electrochemistry in Keith Laidler: Physical Chemistry, 4th ed. (Houghton Mifflin Company College Division, Boston, MA, 2002). ISBN 061815292X.Google Scholar
10.Chang, R.: Electrochemistry, Chemistry, 7th ed. (McGraw Hill, Columbus, OH, 2002).Google Scholar
11.Theodore, L.B., LeMay, H.E., Bursten, J.B.E., and Burdge, J.R.: Electrochemistry, Chemistry, 9th ed. (Pearson Education, New York, NY, 2003).Google Scholar
12.John, W.H., Petrucci, R.H., McCreary, T., and Perry, S.S.: Electrochemistry. General Chemistry: An Integrated Approach, 7th ed. (Pearson Education, New York, NY, 2004).Google Scholar
13.Afolabi, A.S.: Development of carbon nanotubes–platinum electrocatalytic electrodes for proton electron fuel cell. Ph.D. Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009.Google Scholar
14.Afolabi, A.S., Abdulkareem, A.S., Iyuke, S.E., Coville, N.J., and Pienaar, H.C.vZ.: Preparation and Determination of Electroactivity of Carbon Nanotube-Platinum Catalyst for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell. Postal Presentation at the NanoIsrael 2009 (Jerusalem, Israel, 2009).Google Scholar
15.Abdulkareem, A.S.: Design and development of proton exchange membrane (PEM) from synthetic rubber and carbon nanoballs for PEM fuel cell. Ph.D. Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009.Google Scholar
16.Idibie, C.I.: Kinetics of sophonation of polystyrene butadiene rubber for fuel cell applications. Ph.D. Thesis, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2009.Google Scholar
17.Wang, C., Waje, M.M., Wang, X., Tang, J.M., Haddon, R.C., and Yan, Y.S.: Proton exchange membrane fuel cells with carbon nanotubes based electrodes. Nano Lett. 4(2), 345–348 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Chen, C.C., Chen, C.F., Hsu, C.H., and Li, I.H.: Growth and characteristics of carbon nanotubes on carbon cloth as electrodes. Diamond Relat. Mater. 14(3–7), 770–773 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Golovko, V.B., Hofmann, S., Williams, D.R., Ducati, C., Geng, J., and Boskovic, B.O.: Wet catalyst assisted growth of carbon nanofibers on complex three-dimensional substrates. Diamond Relat. Mater. 14, 733–738 (2005).Google Scholar
20.Waje, M. M., Wang, X., Li, W., and Yan, Y.: Deposition of platinum nanoparticles on organic functionalized carbon nanotubes grown in situ on carbon paper for fuel cells. Nanotechnology 16(7), S395–S400 (2005).CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Chen, L.H., AuBuchon, J.F., Chen, I.C., Daraio, C., Ye, X.R., and Gapin, A.: Growth of aligned carbon nanotubes on carbon microfibers by dc plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition. Appl. Phys. Lett. 88(3), 1–3 (2006).Google Scholar
22.Tzeng, S.S., Hung, K.H., and Ko, T.H.: Growth of carbon nanofibers on activated carbon fiber fabrics. Carbon 44(5), 859–865 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23.Song, C. and Pickup, P.G.: Effect of hot pressing on the performance of direct methanol fuel cells. J. Appl. Electrochem. 34(10), 1065–1070 (2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
24.Song, S.Q., Liang, Z.X., Zhou, W.J., Sun, G.Q., Xin, Q., Stergiopoulous, V., and Tsiakaras, P.: Direct methanol fuel cells: The effect of electrode fabrication procedure on MEAs structural properties and cell performance. J. Power Sources 145(2), 495–501 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25.Frey, T., Friedrich, K.A., Jorissen, I., and Garche, J.: Preparation of direct methanol fuel cells by defined multilayer structures. J. Electrochem. Soc. 152(3), A545–A551 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Liu, P. and Norskov, J.K.: Kinetics of the anode processes in PEM fuel cells–the promoting effect of Ru in PtRu anodes. Fuel Cells 1(3–4), 192–201 (2001).3.0.CO;2-M>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Horsfall, J.A. and Lovell, K.V.: Fuel cell performance of radiation grafted sulfonic acid membranes. Fuel Cells 1(3–4), 186–191 (2001).3.0.CO;2-A>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28.Rajalakshmi, N., Ryu, H., Shaijumon, M.M., and Ramaprabhu, S.: Performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with carbon nanotubes as oxygen reduction catalyst support material. J. Power Sources 140, 250–257 (2005).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Amirinejad, M., Rowshanzamir, S., and Eikani, M.H.: Effects of operating parameters on performance of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. J. Power Sources 161, 872–875 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30.Saha, M.S., Gulla, A.F., Allen, R.J., and Mukerjee, S.: High performance polymer electrolyte fuel cells with ultralow Pt loading electrodes prepared by dual ion-beam assisted deposition. Electrochim. Acta 51, 4680–4692 (2006).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Song, C., Tang, Y., Zhang, J.L., Zhang, J., Wang, H., Shen, J., McDermid, S., Li, J., and Kozak, P.: PEM fuel cell reactions in the temperature range of 23–120°C. Electrochim. Acta 52, 2552–2561 (2007).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
32.Rayment, C. and Sherwin, S.: Introduction to Fuel Cell Technology. Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering (University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 2003) pp. 33–35, 46556.Google Scholar
33.Iyuke, S.E., Mohamad, A.B., Kadhum, A.H., Daub, W.R., and Rachid, C.: Improved membrane and electrode assemblies for proton exchange membrane fuel cells. J. Power Sources 114, 195–202 (2003).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Keith, J.: Fuel Cells: Tafel Equation and Fuel Cell Kinetics Losses. CACHE Modules of Energy in the Curriculum (Michigan Technological University, USA, 2008).Google Scholar