Abstract
A computer model of the active layer of the cathode of a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte is studied. The active mass of the electrode consists of equidimensional grains of the substrate (agglomerates of carbon particles with platinum particles embedded in them) and a solid polymer electrolyte (Nafion). The flooding by water can be experienced by both the pores in the substrate grains, which facilitate the oxygen penetration into the active layer of the electrode, and the voids between the grains. All possible versions of the flooding of these pores by water are considered. A calculation of the optimum, at a given polarization of the electrode, value of electrochemical activity, the thickness of the active layer, and the weight of platinum is performed. The major parameters of the system are the concentrations of grains of the substrate and solid polymer electrolyte, the size of these grains, the platinum concentration in the substrate grains, the average diameter of pores in the substrate grains, and the polarization of electrodes. The ultimate aim of the work is to estimate how the flooding of pores of the active layer of the cathode by water affects the magnitude of the optimum current, the effective thickness of the active layer, and the weight of platinum.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Test Reports BU#1 and BU#2, General Electric Co., TRP-76, 1980.
Raistrick, I.D., US Patent 4876115, 1989; Proc. Symp. Diaphragms, Separators, Ion Exchange Membranes, Zee, J.W., White, R.E., Kinoshita, K., and Burney, H.S., Eds., 1986, p. 172.
Lemons, R., J. Power Sources, 1990, vol. 29, p. 251.
Timonov, A.M., Sorosov. Obrazov. Zh., 2000, no. 8, p. 69.
Berezina, N.P., Sorosov. Obrazov. Zh., 2000, no. 9, p. 37.
Chirkov, Yu.G. and Rostokin, V.I., Elektrokhimiya, 2004, vol. 40, p. 1036.
Chirkov, Yu.G. and Rostokin, V.I., Elektrokhimiya, 2004, vol. 40, p. 197.
LaConti, A.B., Fragala, A.R., and Boyack, J.R., Electrodes Materials and Processes for Energy Conversion and Storage, McIntyre, J.D.E., Srinivasan, S., and Will, F.G., Eds., 1977, p. 354.
Eisman, G.A., Diaphragms, Separators, and Ion Exchange Membranes, Zee, J.W., White, R.E., Kinoshita, K., and Burney, H.S., Eds., 1986, p. 156.
Verbrugge, M. and Hill, R., J. Phys. Chem., 1988, vol. 92, p. 6778.
Verbrugge, M., J. Electrochem. Soc., 1989, vol. 136, p. 417.
Hill, R. and Verbrugge, M., J. Electrochem. Soc., 1990, vol. 137, pp. 886, 893.
Zawodzinski, T.A., Neeman, M., Sillerud, L.D., and Gottesfeld, S., J. Phys. Chem., 1991, vol. 95, p. 6040.
Springer, T.E., Zawodzinski, T.A., and Gottesfeld, S., J. Electrochem. Soc., 1991, vol. 138, p. 2334.
Zawodzinski, T.A., Jr., Gottesfeld, S., Shoichet, M.S., and McCarty, T.J., J. Appl. Electrochem., 1993, vol. 23, p. 86.
Zawodzinski, T.A., Springer, T.E., Uribe, F.A., and Gottesfeld, S., Solid State Ionics, 1993, vol. 60, p. 199.
Zawodzinski, T.A., Derouin, C., Springer, T.E., and Gottesfeld, S., Solid State Ionics, 1993, vol. 60, p. 199.
Zawodzinski, T.A., Springer, T.E., Davey, J., Jestel, R., Lopez, C., Valerio, J., and Gottesfeld, S., J. Electrochem. Soc., 1993, vol. 140, p. 1981.
Chirkov, Yu.G. and Rostokin, V.I., Elektrokhimiya, 2003, vol. 39, p. 811.
Chirkov, Yu.G. and Rostokin, V.I., Elektrokhimiya, 2003, vol. 39, p. 1476.
Chirkov, Yu.G. and Rostokin, V.I., Elektrokhimiya, 2004, vol. 40, p. 34.
Antropov, L.I., Teoreticheskaya elektrokhimiya (Theoretical Electrochemistry), Moscow: Vysshaya Shkola, 1965.
Uchida, M., Aoyama, Y., Eda, N., and Akira, Ohta., J. Electrochem. Soc., 1995, vol. 142, p. 4143.
Escribano, S. and Aldebert, P., Solid State Ionics, 1995, vol. 77, p. 318.
Bolwin, K., Gulzow, E., Bevers, D., and Schnurnberger, W., Solid State Ionics, 1995, vol. 77, p. 324.
Wilson, M.S., Valerio, J.A., and Gottesfeld, S., Electrochim. Acta, 1995, vol. 40, p. 355.
Mehta, V. and Cooper, J.S., J. Power Sources, 2003, vol. 114, p. 32.
Eikerling, M. and Kornyshev, A.A., J. Electroanal. Chem., 1998, vol. 453, p. 89.
Costamagna, P. and Srinivasan, S., J. Power Sources, 2001, vol. 102, pp. 242, 253.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Translated from Elektrokhimiya, Vol. 41, No. 1, 2005, pp. 35–47.
Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Chirkov, Rostokin.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chirkov, Y.G., Rostokin, V.I. Cathode of a Hydrogen-Oxygen fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte: The effect of the flooding of pores by water on the characteristics of the active layer. Russ J Electrochem 41, 32–43 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00022098
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00022098