Catalyst ink preparation

Figure 3.19 Schematic of the catalyst ink preparation process. (A) Paste process (B) Dropping process. ...

Lobato J, Rodrigo MA, Linares JJ, Scott K. Effect of the catalyst ink preparation method on the performance of high temperature polymer electrol5de membrane fuel cells. J Power Sources 2006 157 284-92. 

Figure 22.8. Schematic diagram of the microstructures in the catalytic layer according to the catalyst ink preparation method [73] (a) solution method, (b) colloidal method. (Reprinted from Journal of Power Sources, 106(1-2), Shin SJ, Lee JK, Ha HY, Hong SA, Chun HS, Oh IH. Effect of the catalytic ink preparation method on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, 146-52, 32002, with permission from Elsevier.)...

The catalyst inks were prepared by dispersing the catalyst nanoparticles into an appropriate amoimt of Millipore water and 5wt% Nafion solution. Then, both the anode and cathode catalyst inks were directly painted using a direct painting technique onto either side of a Nafion 117 membrane. A carbon cloth diffusion layer was placed on to top of both the anode and cathode catalyst layers [3-5]. The active cell area was 2.25cm. ... 

The slurries of electro-catalysts were prepared by mixing together the catalysts and appropriate amount of 5wt % Nafion solution(Du Pont) including some kinds of dispersant[8]. The electrodes were made by spraying method with these well mixed inks. Two electrodes and Nafion 112 membrane were hot pressed with the condition of 50kgf/cm, 120°C for 3min to fabricate MEAs(Membrane Electrode Assembly). 

In practice, the catal5Tic layers are prepared by brushing or spraying catalyst ink (a suspension of the catalyst particles in water and/or an organic solvent with addition of ionomer) either onto diffusion media (carbon paper or carbon cloth, also referred to as substrates), resulting in so-called catalyst-coated substrates (CCS), or directly onto... 

To overcome these disadvantages, a thin-film CL technique was invented, which remains the most commonly used method in PEM fuel cells. Thin-film catalyst layers were initially used in the early 1990s by Los Alamos National Laboratory [6], Ballard, and Johnson-Matthey [7,8]. A thin-film catalyst layer is prepared from catalyst ink, consisting of uniformly distributed ionomer and catalyst. In these thin-film catalyst layers, the binding material is not PTFE but rather hydrophilic Nafion ionomer, which also provides proton conductive paths for the electrochemical reactions. It has been found that the presence of hydrophobic PTFE in thin catalyst layers was not beneficial to fuel cell performance [9]. 

Numerous efforfs have been made to improve existing fhin-film catalysts in order to prepare a CL with low Pt loading and high Pt utilization without sacrificing electiode performance. In fhin-film CL fabrication, fhe most common method is to prepare catalyst ink by mixing the Pt/C agglomerates with a solubilized polymer electrolyte such as Nation ionomer and then to apply this ink on a porous support or membrane using various methods. In this case, the CL always contains some inactive catalyst sites not available for fuel cell reactions because the electrochemical reaction is located only at the interface between the polymer electrolyte and the Pt catalyst where there is reactant access. 

Zhang, H., Wang, X., Zhang, J., and Zhang, J. Conventional catalyst ink, catalyst layer, and MEA preparation. In PEM fuel cell electrocatalysts and catalyst layers Fundamentals and applications, ed. J. Zhang. London Springer, 2008. 

In Abaoud et al. s work [18], the details of using polyethylene oxide (PEO) as a suspension agent in the preparation of catalyst ink for PEMFC electrodes were... 

Figure 24 shows a cross section of a Nafion membrane catalyzed by direct application of catalyst inks to its two major surfaces, as observed by SEM [52], The thin slice of MEA required for SEM imaging was generated by microtome from the MEA encapsulated in epoxy. This figure actually describes an MEA prepared for a DMFC, with PtRu black and Pt black catalyst layers of relatively high loading, resulting in catalyst layers 10 and 14 pm thick (Fig. 24). The SEM image well depicts two generic characteristics of CCMs prepared by direct, ink-based application of the catalysts to the ionomeric membrane the interface between the catalyst layer and the membrane is sharp on the SEM scale and the thickness of the catalyst layer measured from the...

Low-platinum catalysts are prepared in combination with amorphous, hydrous transition-metal oxides. The catalysts are dispersed in carbon inks, and their electrocatalytic activity is screened in half-cell measurements. 

Catalyst A. A catalyst ink comprising 0.24 weight percent palladium and 0.2 weight percent polyvinyl alcohol was prepared by dissolving 80 g Pd(OAc), in a mixture of 1600 mL deionized water and 320 mL concentrated ammonium hydroxide. The palladium solution was added to a solution of polyvinyl alcohol (125,000 mw, 88 mol percent hydrolyzed) in deionized water to provide a catalyst Ink having a viscosity of about 20 cp. 

The structures of PFSA membranes have been analyzed and discussed by many researchers, and the cluster-network model for hydrated membranes proposed by Gierke [22] has been a basic model symbolic of the PFSA characteristics up to now. As for the structure of the diluted aqueous solution of PFSA, it is important to understand the structure of ionomer dispersion and catalyst ink, comprising catalyst particles, ionomer, and solvent, for the preparation of cast membrane and catalyst layer, respectively. Aldebert et al. 

Normally, CL preparation includes two steps one is to prepare the catalyst ink, and the other is to prepare CL using this ink. 

Regarding the solvent used to prepare the catalyst ink, its properties in catalyst ink should be mentioned as it also plays an important role in determining the microstructure and cataljAic activity of the CL. When ionomer such as Nafion solution is mixed with solvent, the mixture may become a solution, a colloid, or a precipitate due to the different dielectric constants of the solvent. When the dielectric constant is more than 10, a solution is formed between three and 10, a colloidal solution is formed and less than 3, precipitation occurs.If the mixture is a solution (i.e., the solution method ), excessive ionomer may cover the carbon surface, resulting in decreased Pt utilization. However, when the mixture is a colloid (the colloidal method ), ionomer colloids adsorb on the catalyst powder and the size of the catalyst powder agglomerates increases, leading to an increased porosity of the CL. In this case, the mass transfer resistance could be diminished because of the continuous network of ionomers throughout the CL, which then improves the proton transport from the catalyst to the membrane. ... 

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