Interfacial engineering via laser ablation for high-performing PEM water electrolysis
Date Published |
02/2023
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Publication Type | Journal Article
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Authors | |
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DOI |
10.1016/j.apenergy.2023.120853
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Abstract |
A rationalized interfacial design strategy was applied to tailor the porous transport layer (PTL)-catalyst layer (CL) contact and the PTL bulk-phase architecture. Particularly, at the PTL-CL interface, our results reveal that laser ablated sintered titanium power-based PTLs improve electrolyzer performance at both the H2NEW Consortium baseline catalyst loading of 0.4 mgIr·cm−2 as well as at the ultra-low catalyst loading of 0.055 mgIr·cm−2. Under ultra-low catalyst loadings, the laser ablated PTL demonstrates maximum reduction of 230 mV compared to the commercial PTL at 4 A·cm−2, and reduces by 68 mV at 3.2 A·cm−2 under H2NEW baseline loading. Laser ablation alters the titanium phase at the interface, so it forms more uniform structure like a microporous layer or a backing layer, leading to an increase in the surface area in contact with the catalyst layer while preventing the membrane from deforming into the PTL. Moreover, we reveal that bulk-phase architecture modification of the PTL by ablating patterned pores at the flow field-PTL interface improves mass transport without sacrificing contact at the CL-PTL interface. Overall, laser ablation of the PTL is an effective method to customize interfacial design to enhance proton exchange membrane electrolyzer performance. |
Journal |
Applied Energy
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Volume |
336
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Year of Publication |
2023
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Pagination |
120853
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ISSN Number |
03062619
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URL | |
Short Title |
Applied Energy
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Refereed Designation |
Refereed
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Organizations | |
Research Areas | |
File(s) | |
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