Cathode contamination oxygen reduction kinetic

The slow kinetics of the cathode oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) plays the key role in limiting PEMFC performance when pristine hydrogen is used as the fuel. Therefore, improving the catalytic activity for the ORR has drawn most of the research attention in catalysis studies. Cathode contamination has attracted less attention compared with anode contamination, and only a limited number of papers have been published. Pollutants in air include NOx (NO2 and NO), SOx (SO2 and... 

Currently, several air-side contamination models have been published in the literature, ranging from simple empirical and adsorption models to general kinetic models. These models have been applied to simulate and predict SO2, NO2, NH3, and toluene contamination. The kinetic model is a very general one based on the associative oxygen reduction mechanism. It takes into account contaminant reactions, such as surface adsorption, competitive adsorption, and electrochemical oxidation, and has the capability of simulating and predicting both transient and steady state cell performance. The model can be applied to other cathode contaminants, e.g., SO2 and NO2. 

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