Electron Tomography of Nafion Ionomer Coated on Pt/Carbon Black in High Utilization Electrode for PEFCs

Abstract

To confirm the superiority of newly developed electrocatalyst layer (ECL) for polymer electrolyte fuel cells, three-dimensional dispersion states of Nafion ionomer in Pt/carbon black agglomerates were analyzed by electron tomography based on multiple TEM images taken at different tilt angles. Uniform distribution of the ionomer has been first observed, proving the high catalyst utilization in the new ECL distinctive from that of the conventional one.

The use of graphite oxide to produce mesoporous carbon supporting Pt, Ru, or Pd nanoparticles

“…The sample, highly pure water, and ethanol were mixed at ca. [8]. On the other hand, Pt-GO is anticipated for use to increase Pt utilization because of its unique sheet shape having no micropores.…”

Entropy‐Driven Helical Mesostructure Formation with Achiral Cationic Surfactant Templates

“…The helical mesoporous silica was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) tomography for the first time. TEM tomography is a technique widely used in life science and materials science, [13][14][15][16][17] whereby a series of two-dimensional (2D) TEM images is recorded and used to reconstruct a three-dimensional (3D) image of the object studied. TEM tomography is very useful for studying the 3D structure of the helical mesoporous silica as it provides additional spatial resolution for imaging the cross pitch of the channels throughout the material in three dimensions.…”

Research and Development of Highly Active and Durable Electrocatalysts Based on Multilateral Analyses of Fuel Cell Reactions

“…60 Very uniform distribution of the binder in the CL was demonstrated, for the first time, by an electron tomography (3D-TEM). 61 However, we still need to improve the CL performance further under widely ranging operating conditions of relative humidity (RHs) and temperature.…”

“…[43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55] New catalyst layers or membraneelectrode-assemblies (MEAs) have been developed in order to make the electrocatalysts work effectively under widely varying operating conditions of relative humidity (RH) and temperature. [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] Changes in the distribution of the specific resistance in the PEM and oxygen partial pressure at the CL/PEM interface during operation, [73][74][75] as well as the degradation mechanism of the MEAs, 59,63,64,76,77 were also analyzed to feedback information to the syntheses of PEMs and catalysts. For the R-SOC, high-performance, high-durability electrodes with novel architecture have been developed, while clarifying clues for the further improvement of activity and durability.…”