Effect of Microstructure of Porous Transport Layer on Performance in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyser
Jude O Majasan, Francesco Iacoviello, Paul R Shearing, Dan JL Brett - Electrochemical Innovation Lab, Department of Chemical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
The porous transport layer (PTL) is a vital component of the polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyser (PEMWE) as it is both a conduit for current distribution and mass transport. This study aims to examine the influence of the microstructure of the PTL on the performance of a PEMWE by the combination of ex-situ and in-situ techniques. Two PTLs with distinctly different mean pore diameter were characterized to determine key properties such as surface morphology, porosity, pore size distribution and porosity distribution. (…) Electrochemical characterization (steady-state polarization electrochemical impedance spectroscopy) results show that the SP-PTL performed better over the current density range tested.