Researcher(s)
- Nathan Courvoisier, Chemical Engineering, California Baptist University
Faculty Mentor(s)
- Yushan Yan, Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware
- Ke Gong, Center for Clean Hydrogen, University of Delaware
Abstract
Water electrolysis is a promising solution for generating green hydrogen needed in commodity chemicals and long-term energy storage. Proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) is one of the most prominent water electrolysis methods. A large barrier to implementing PEMWE is its high cost, where the catalysts associated with the electrochemical processes are a significant cost driver. As a result, reducing the cost of PEMWE by improving or developing catalyst deposition methods that optimize the efficiency of PEMWE electrolyzer performance is imperative. Since the oxygen evolution reaction that takes place at the anode is the rate limiting step in PEMWE, focusing on the effect of anode catalyst deposition methods on electrolyzer performance has the highest potential of yielding beneficial results. By comparing the well-established direct spray coating method to the novel spark ablation method, this project focuses on improving electrolyzer performance at the anode by investigating a promising deposition method that is not substantially covered in the literature. Both the direct spray coating and spark ablation methods were calibrated to load the Nafion membranes with 0.4 ± 0.02 mg/cm2 of iridium catalyst. The performance of each iridium loaded membrane is tested in an electrolyzer cell containing the same flow fields and current collectors. The cathode and gaskets are changed each time but have identical specifications across all trials. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is used to analyze the high frequency and polarization resistances while polarization curves are used to identify the efficiency of hydrogen production. Analytical methods such as scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy are used to analyze and compare nanoparticles from both deposition methods. Results will be published in a future paper. Future research will include triplicate samples as variations in loading and cell assembly are investigated.