A nature-inspired solution for water management in flow fields for electrochemical devices

Trogadas, Panagiotis; Cho, Jason I. S.; Rasha, Lara; Lu, Xuekun; Kardjilov, Nikolay; Markötter, Henning; Manke, Ingo; Shearing, Paul R.; Brett, Dan J. L.; Coppens, Marc-Olivier

doi:10.1039/d3ee03666a

Cited by 6 publications

References 71 publications

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A Scalable and Robust Water Management Strategy for PEMFCs: Operando Electrothermal Mapping and Neutron Imaging Study

Xu,

Trogadas,

Zhou

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

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Effective water management is crucial for the optimal operation of low‐temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Excessive liquid water production can cause flooding in the gas diffusion electrodes and flow channels, limiting mass transfer and reducing PEMFC performance. To tackle this issue, a nature‐inspired chemical engineering (NICE) approach has been adopted that takes cues from the integument structure of desert‐dwelling lizards for passive water transport. By incorporating engraved, capillary microchannels into conventional flow fields, PEMFC performance improves significantly, including a 15% increase in maximum power density for a 25 cm2 cell and 13% for a 100 cm2 cell. Electro‐thermal maps of the lizard‐inspired flow field demonstrate a more uniform spatial distribution of current density and temperature than the conventional design. Neutron radiography provides evidence that capillary microchannels in the lizard‐inspired flow field facilitate the efficient transport and removal of generated liquid water, thereby preventing blockages in the reactant channels. These findings present a universally applicable and highly efficient water management strategy for PEMFCs, with the potential for widespread practical implementation for other electrochemical devices.

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A Scalable and Robust Water Management Strategy for PEMFCs: Operando Electrothermal Mapping and Neutron Imaging Study

Xu,

Trogadas,

Zhou

et al. 2024

Advanced Science

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Boosting the Oxygen Reduction Performance of Fe–N–C Catalyst Using Zeolite as an Oxygen Reservoir

Liu,

Wan

et al. 2024

Trans. Tianjin Univ.

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Non-precious metal electrocatalysts (such as Fe–N–C materials) for the oxygen (O2) reduction reaction demand a high catalyst loading in fuel cell devices to achieve workable performance. However, the extremely low solubility of O2 in water creates severe mass transport resistance in the thick catalyst layer of Fe–N–C catalysts. Here, we introduce silicalite-1 nanocrystals with hydrophobic cavities as sustainable O2 reservoirs to overcome the mass transport issue of Fe–N–C catalysts. The extra O2 supply to the adjacent catalysts significantly alleviated the negative effects of the severe mass transport resistance. The hybrid catalyst (Fe–N–C@silicalite-1) achieved a higher limiting current density than Fe–N–C in the half-cell test. In the H2–O2 and H2–air proton exchange membrane fuel cells, Fe–N–C@silicalite-1 exhibited a 16.3% and 20.2% increase in peak power density compared with Fe–N–C, respectively. The O2-concentrating additive provides an effective approach for improving the mass transport imposed by the low solubility of O2 in water.

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Dissolution of porous media with disordered geometry

Qin,

Yuan

2024

Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspect

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A nature-inspired solution for water management in flow fields for electrochemical devices

Abstract: A systematic, nature-inspired chemical engineering approach is employed to solve the issue of flooding in electrochemical devices. The mechanism of passive water transport utilized by lizards living in arid environments...

Cited by 6 publications

References 71 publications

A Scalable and Robust Water Management Strategy for PEMFCs: Operando Electrothermal Mapping and Neutron Imaging Study

A Scalable and Robust Water Management Strategy for PEMFCs: Operando Electrothermal Mapping and Neutron Imaging Study

Boosting the Oxygen Reduction Performance of Fe–N–C Catalyst Using Zeolite as an Oxygen Reservoir

Dissolution of porous media with disordered geometry

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