Advances in rapid and effective break-in/conditioning/recovery of automotive PEMFC stacks

Automotive proton exchange membrane fuel cell stacks need to meet manufacturer specified rated beginning-of-life (BOL) performance before being assembled into vehicles and shipped off to customers. The process of “breaking-in” of a freshly assembled stack is often referred to as “conditioning.” It has become an intensely researched area especially in automotive companies, where imminent commercialization of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) demands a short, energy- and cost-efficient, and practical conditioning protocol. Significant advances in reducing the conditioning time from 1 to 2 days to as low as 4h or less, in some cases without the use of additional inert gases such as nitrogen, and with minimal use of hydrogen, and specialized test stations will be discussed.     

Synthesis of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions

Partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers bearing perfluorosulfonic functions (ps‐PES‐FPES), with ionic exchange capacity (IEC) ranging between 0.9 and 1.5 meq H⁺/g, are synthesized by regioselective bromination of partially fluorinated poly(arylene ether sulfone) multiblock copolymers (PES‐FPES), followed by Ullman coupling reaction with lithium 1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐(1,1,2,2‐tetrafluoro‐2‐iodoethoxy)ethanesulfonate. The PES‐FPES are prepared by aromatic nucleophilic substitution reaction by an original approach, that is, “one pot two reactions synthesis.” The chemical structures of polymers are analyzed by ¹H and ¹⁹F NMR spectroscopy. The resulted ionomers present two distinct glass transitions and α relaxations revealing phase separation between the hydrophilic and the hydrophobic domains. The phase separation is observed at much lower block lengths of ps‐PES‐FPES as compared with the literature. AFM and SANS observations supported the phase separation, the hydrophilic domains are well dispersed but the connectivity to each other depends on the ps‐PES block lengths. The thermomechanical behavior, the water up‐take, and the conductivity of the ps‐PES‐FPES membranes are compared with those of Nafion 117^® and randomly functionalized polysulfone (ps‐PES). Conductivities close or higher to those of Nafion 117^® are obtained. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2015 , 53, 1941–1956     

PEMFC阴极中氧扩散和电化学反应模型研究—I．TFFA模型及其数值计算

将薄膜浸渍聚集体（TFFA）模型用于描述质子交换膜燃料电池（PEMFC）阴极中氧的扩散和反应过程，其中包括氧气在气体扩散层和反应层气体通道中的扩散，氧气在反应层薄膜中的溶解和扩散，氧在反应层浸渍聚休体中的扩散和反应以及电子和离子的传导，并根据PEMFC阴极的结构特点给出TFFA模型的数值解法。     

Fluorinated organic chemicals: Prospects in New Electrochemical Energy Technologies

This contribution has been partly adapted from a special lecture intended to commemorate the Nobel prize, awarded one century ago, to Henri Moissan. It, is focused on fluorinated and perfluorinated molecules and macromolecules used in electrochemical energy sources, i.e. storage and conversion of energy. The latter, which figure indisputably among New Energy Technologies, include lithium batteries and fuel cells based on polymeric membranes both of which have tremendous development potential in terms of performances, safety and cost reductions. The advantages inherent in fluorine, in particular its electron-withdrawing effect and the oxidation stability that it provides to the carbon-fluorine bond, make it an asset in the search for new organic molecular and macromolecular anions with extensive delocalization of the negative charge, usable both in lithium batteries and fuel cells. As for fluorinated and perfluorinated macromolecule backbones, they are currently the reference material in fuel cell ionomeric membranes but some of them are also good candidates for use in lithium-ion batteries. This paper, far from being exhaustive, also emphasizes the economic aspects that influence material selection and also govern the future of basic research.     

Characterization of SiO2-P2O5-ZrO2 Sol-Gel/NAFION™ Composite Membranes

Composite membranes were prepared by (a) infiltrating NAFION with SiO₂-P₂O₅-ZrO₂ sol, and (b) recasting a film using NAFION solution containing SiO₂-P₂O₅-ZrO₂ sol. The membranes were characterized by Differential Thermal Analysis and ac-impedance spectroscopy as a function of relative humidity. The influences of the heat treatment (80°C–150°C) and cleaning on the electrical properties were investigated. The incorporation of SiO₂-P₂O₅-ZrO₂ gels into NAFION lead to improvements in its thermal stability and proton conductivity.     

无机胶体法制备Pt/C催化剂及其性能表征

采用无机胶体法制备用于质子交换膜燃料电池(PEMFC)的Pt/C催化剂。研究了影响PtO₂胶体生成和稳定性的因素(溶液的pH值、浓度和温度条件等)以及不同还原剂浓度对Pt/C催化剂性能的影响。透射电子显微镜测试结果表明，采用经优化的工艺条件所制备的Pt/C催化剂平均粒径为3 nm，且分散性好、粒度均匀。X-射线衍射分析表明，催化剂中Pt(111)晶面的相对含量较高，有利于加速氧还原反应。单体PEMFC的电压/电流密度曲线测试表明，所制备的Pt/C催化剂具有良好的电化学性能。     

硼氢化钠水解制氢的研究

采用置换镀的方法在泡沫镍基体上获得不同载钌量的NaBH4水解制氢催化剂。实验结果表明，NaBH4水解制氢反应为零级反应，氢气生成速率随载钌量的增加而变快；当泡沫镍表面完全被钌覆盖时，载钌量为6%，相应的催化能力最强。与离子交换树脂载钌催化剂相比，泡沫镍载钌催化剂更稳定、耐用。实验还证实，30%比35%的NaBH4水溶液在相同的催化剂作用下更易发生水解反应；NaBH4水溶液中加入少量的NaOH有助于提高钌催化剂的催化性能。通过对NaBH4储氢体系的能量计算，说明采用该氢源体系的微型燃料电池的能量密度有望达到甚至超过锂离子电池的比能量水平。     

Preparation and characterization of sulfated zirconia (SO4/ZrO2)/Nafion composite membranes for PEMFC operation at high temperature/low humidity

Fine particle superacidic sulfated zirconia (SO₄²⁻/ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂) was synthesized by ameliorated method, and composite membranes with different S-ZrO₂ contents were prepared by a recasting procedure from a suspension of S-ZrO₂ powder and Nafion solution. The physico-chemical properties of the membranes were studied by ion exchange capacity (IEC) and liquid water uptake measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, thermogravimetry–mass spectrometry (TG–MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The results showed that the IEC of composite membrane increased with the content of S-ZrO₂, S-ZrO₂ was compatible with the Nafion matrix, the incorporation of the S-ZrO₂ could increase the crystallinity and also improve the initial degradation temperature of the composite membrane. The performance of single cell was the best when the S-ZrO₂ content was 15 wt.%, and achieved 1.35 W/cm² at 80 °C and 0.99 W/cm² at 120 °C based on H₂/O₂ and at a pressure of 2 atm, the performance of the single cell with optimized S-ZrO₂ was far more than that of the Nafion at the same condition (e.g. 1.28 W/cm² at 80 °C, 0.75 W/cm² at 120 °C). The 15 wt.% S-ZrO₂/Nafion composite membrane showed lower fuel cell internal resistance than Nafion membranes at high temperature and low relative humidity (RH).     

Synthesis and characterisation of poly[2,2-(m-phenylene)-5,5-bibenzimidazole] as polymer electrolyte membrane for high temperature PEMFCs

Intermediate-high molecular weight poly[2,2-(m-phenylene)-5,5-bibenzimidazole] has been produced by mixing 3,3′,4,4′-tetraminobiphenyl and isophthalic acid in polyphosphoric acid as polycondensing agent and triphenyl phosphite as catalyst. Polymers with intrinsic viscosities close to 1 were measured in 97% sulphuric acid. Membranes were prepared by solution casting and subsequently immersed in phosphoric acid in order to gain ionic conductivity. These membranes were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric analyses, methanol permeation and conductivity measurements. Levels of acid and water absorbed by the membranes were measured and the kinetic of this process was studied. Finally, doped membranes were tested in an actual fuel cell setup, obtaining also information about gases crossover from the open circuit potential. Acceptably reproducible molecular weights between 115,000 and 190,000 were obtained allowing the casting of mechanically stable membranes, which showed a great affinity towards phosphoric acid, high thermal stability, and a conductivity of 0.039 S/cm at 190 °C with the membrane equilibrated in saturated air at 60 °C. Open circuit potential of a PBI membrane was 0.99 V, close to those of commercial perfluorinated membranes. A H₂/O₂ fuel cell with dry gases was able to produce a maximum power output of 0.22 W/cm² at 175 °C.     

Machine learning as an online diagnostic tool for proton exchange membrane fuel cells

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells are considered a promising power supply system with high efficiency and zero emissions. They typically work within a relatively narrow range of temperature and humidity to achieve optimal performance; however, this makes the system difficult to control, leading to faults and accelerated degradation. Two main approaches can be used for diagnosis, limited data input which provides an unintrusive, rapid but limited analysis, or advanced characterisation that provides a more accurate diagnosis but often requires invasive or slow measurements. To provide an accurate diagnosis with rapid data acquisition, machine learning methods have shown great potential. However, there is a broad approach to the diagnostic algorithms and signals used in the field. This article provides a critical view of the current approaches and suggests recommendations for future methodologies of machine learning in fuel cell diagnostic applications.