Abstract
Fuel cells are especially attractive as a decarbonization strategy for heavy duty transportation sector. However, the durability and cost of the fuel cell components remains a major barrier for market penetration. Expensive platinum based catalysts, represent a significant portion of this challenge. Therefore, effort to enhance their durability and performance, without increasing the loading, could make a significant advancement towards commercial viability. In this study, we investigated the incorporation of dihydroxyl additive, ellagic acid (EA), in cathode catalyst layers to improve the performance and durability of the catalysts. Our observation revealed that incorporation of EA into cathode catalyst layer led to an increase in mass activity when used with a Pt catalyst supported on either vulcan and high surface area (HSC) carbon support. Increase in the overall conductivity of the catalyst layers due to the hydrophilic nature of the additive could be responsible for improved performance. Decrease in the catalyst activity inhibition by the ionomer adsorption of the platinum surfaces could also result in improved catalytic activity.Further increase in mass activity with the HSC can be achieved by the optimizing the solvent used for ink preparation for enhanced interaction of EA with the platinum inside the pores and not just the surface platinum particles. We also find enhanced durability of both Pt/Vulcan and Pt/HSC catalyst with the chosen additive in accelerated stress tests. The probable reasons for this behavior will be discussed. Acknowledgement This research was supported by the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, US Department of Energy (DOE) through the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck (M2FCT) consortia, technology managers G. Kleen and D. Papageorgopoulos.
Published Version
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