Degradation Of Carbon Support Research Articles

Carbon-Supported Fe Catalysts forCO2Electroreduction to High-Added Value Products: A DEMS Study: Effect of the Functionalization of the Support

Vulcan XC-72R-supported Fe catalysts have been synthesised for the electroreduction of CO2to high-added value products. Catalysts were obtained by the polyol method, using ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent. Prior to the metal deposition, Vulcan was subjected to different oxidation treatments in order to modify its surface chemistry and study its influence on the physicochemical and electrochemical properties of the catalysts, as well as on the product distribution. The oxidation treatments of the supports modify their textural properties, but do not affect significantly the physicochemical properties of catalysts. However, DEMS studies showed that the carbon support degradation, the distribution of products, and the catalytic activity toward the CO2electroreduction reaction depend significantly on the surface chemistry of the carbon support.

Impact of carbon monoxide on PEFC catalyst carbon support degradation under current-cycled operating conditions

It is well known that, even at ppm levels, the presence of CO in a PEFC anode feed stream has a significant impact on the MEA performance. Numerous work on short-term CO impact on PEFC performance under steady-state current demands has been carried out. However, to the best of our knowledge, the impact of long-term (i.e., >600 h) CO contamination on intrinsic Pt and C support aging (Pt oxidation/dissolution/ripening, C oxidation, …) under current-cycled operating conditions has never been explored. In this paper, on the basis of a combined theoretical and experimental approach, we investigate the long-term CO effect on PEFC performance and degradation. Firstly, on the basis of our previously published PEFC materials degradation models, we suggest that anodic CO poisoning could be used to mitigate the cathodic carbon catalyst-support corrosion phenomena and thus to enhance the MEA durability. Secondly, endurance experiments are performed on single fuel cells with current-cycled protocols representative of transport applications. The impact of CO on electrochemical transient response shows a reasonable agreement with simulated behaviors, and it is experimentally demonstrated that the impact of CO on the cell potential degradation rate is strongly dependent on the current-cycle mode.

A review on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell catalyst degradation and starvation issues: Causes, consequences and diagnostic for mitigation

In proton exchange membrane fuel cells, cost, reliability and durability are important issues that need to be solved before their commercialization. Their performance decrease during operation is attributed, amongst others, to the loss of electrochemical surface area occurring during long-term ageing, after transients or after an incident (faulty operation). These losses are mainly due to catalyst metal degradation and carbon-support corrosion, which are continuous irreversible processes that can dramatically reduce the fuel cell lifetime. In this paper, the phenomena linked to catalyst and carbon-support degradation are reviewed, focusing on those caused by fuel and oxidant starvation, since these faulty conditions are amongst the most critical for fuel cell durability. A description of reactions potentially involved in the catalyst degradation, associated with thermodynamic and kinetic considerations related to fuel cell operation are reviewed. This information is used to interpret the experimental results presented in the literature and reviewed in this paper. Based on these reviews, an analysis of the “reverse decay current mechanism” is performed and an alternative mechanism is suggested together with an experiment that would identify the most likely between them. Finally, some characterization methods or mitigation strategies are listed and an illustrative fault tree is built, pointing out the relationship between causes and symptoms in catalyst degradation.