Diagnostic tools degradation measurements

Chemiluminescence Measurements. For chemiluminescence measurements, the IDA is used as a fundamental and diagnostic tool rather than a quantitative analysis tool. This is because the light levels in CL are very low, and normally no wavelength selection is employed. Even with a monochromator and a PMT detector, detection limits are seriously degraded. 

Cell degradation results in performance loss of the fuel cell. Appropriate measurement techniques are required in order to characterize the cell and determine the prevaihng degradation process. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) is a common diagnostic tool for the characterization of electrochemical cells [18, 58). With respect to PEM-FCs, it provides information about the electrochemical active area, the double-layer characteristics, and the hydrogen fuel crossover through the membrane. 

To test the degradation of fuel cell catalyst and assess the carbon support degradation effect on fuel cell performance, many diagnostic tools are available. These tools may test the morphology of the catalyst support directly or may evaluate the carbon corrosion indirectly through the fuel cell overall performance. Common parameters analyzed to evaluate the electrocatalyst degradation include measurement of the catalyst layer areas (cross-sectional and smface area), the ECSA, fuel cell current density, surface morphology, and elemental composition of material or effluent gas. 

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