Structural properties of inkjet-printed and ultrasound-spray-coated PEM fuel cell catalyst layers and their impact on fuel cell performance

Kód výsledku v IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60461373%3A22310%2F25%3A43932547" target="_blank" >RIV/60461373:22310/25:43932547 - isvavai.cz</a>

Výsledek na webu

<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894725121293?via%3Dihub" target="_blank" >https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894725121293?via%3Dihub</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cej.2025.171283" target="_blank" >10.1016/j.cej.2025.171283</a>

Jazyk výsledku

angličtina

Název v původním jazyce

Structural properties of inkjet-printed and ultrasound-spray-coated PEM fuel cell catalyst layers and their impact on fuel cell performance

Popis výsledku v původním jazyce

Catalyst layers (CLs) are critical to the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). As shown previously, inkjet printing (IJP) represents an attractive CL production technology ensuring efficient catalyst utilization. This study provides a comparative structural analysis of CLs fabricated via IJP and ultrasonic spray coating (USC), aiming to explain the performance differences observed in operating fuel cells utilizing these two types of CL. This allows further optimisation of the CL deposition by IJP. A combination of advanced experimental and modeling techniques was employed to accomplish this task, including in-plane electron conductivity measurements, optical profilometry, FIB-SEM tomography, and 3D structure-based transport simulations. IJP CLs were consistently thinner (4–10 μm vs. 6–18 μm), smoother (Ra ~0.38–0.44 μm vs. ~0.55–0.63 μm), and exhibited significantly fewer surface cracks (0.18–0.61 % vs. 1.34–4.05 %) compared to USC layers. Despite similar porosities at the microscale (40.0 % for IJP vs. 38.3 % for USC), IJP layers showed higher electrical conductivity (448 ± 135 S m−1 vs. 387 ± 96 S m−1) and more homogeneous Pt distribution. FIB-SEM reconstructions confirmed isotropic and statistically homogeneous structures of CLs produced by both methods, with negligible isolated porosity and comparable transport properties. However, macroscale features such as crack formation, layer thickness, and surface roughness strongly impacted overall performance and Pt utilization. These results highlight the critical role of deposition method in determining catalyst layer architecture and reveal inkjet printing as a highly promising approach for producing low-loading, high-performance CLs with potential for scalable, additive manufacturing.

Název v anglickém jazyce

Structural properties of inkjet-printed and ultrasound-spray-coated PEM fuel cell catalyst layers and their impact on fuel cell performance

Popis výsledku anglicky

Catalyst layers (CLs) are critical to the performance and durability of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). As shown previously, inkjet printing (IJP) represents an attractive CL production technology ensuring efficient catalyst utilization. This study provides a comparative structural analysis of CLs fabricated via IJP and ultrasonic spray coating (USC), aiming to explain the performance differences observed in operating fuel cells utilizing these two types of CL. This allows further optimisation of the CL deposition by IJP. A combination of advanced experimental and modeling techniques was employed to accomplish this task, including in-plane electron conductivity measurements, optical profilometry, FIB-SEM tomography, and 3D structure-based transport simulations. IJP CLs were consistently thinner (4–10 μm vs. 6–18 μm), smoother (Ra ~0.38–0.44 μm vs. ~0.55–0.63 μm), and exhibited significantly fewer surface cracks (0.18–0.61 % vs. 1.34–4.05 %) compared to USC layers. Despite similar porosities at the microscale (40.0 % for IJP vs. 38.3 % for USC), IJP layers showed higher electrical conductivity (448 ± 135 S m−1 vs. 387 ± 96 S m−1) and more homogeneous Pt distribution. FIB-SEM reconstructions confirmed isotropic and statistically homogeneous structures of CLs produced by both methods, with negligible isolated porosity and comparable transport properties. However, macroscale features such as crack formation, layer thickness, and surface roughness strongly impacted overall performance and Pt utilization. These results highlight the critical role of deposition method in determining catalyst layer architecture and reveal inkjet printing as a highly promising approach for producing low-loading, high-performance CLs with potential for scalable, additive manufacturing.

Druh

J_imp - Článek v periodiku v databázi Web of Science

CEP obor

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OECD FORD obor

20400 - Chemical engineering

Projekt

<a href="/cs/project/EH22_008%2F0004617" target="_blank" >EH22_008/0004617: Konverze a skladování energie</a><br>

Návaznosti

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Rok uplatnění

2025

Kód důvěrnosti údajů

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Název periodika

Chemical Engineering Journal

ISSN

1385-8947

e-ISSN

1873-3212

Svazek periodika

527

Číslo periodika v rámci svazku

1 January 2026

Stát vydavatele periodika

CH - Švýcarská konfederace

Počet stran výsledku

15

Strana od-do

171283

Kód UT WoS článku

001639692700001

EID výsledku v databázi Scopus

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