Platinum Group Metal-Free Catalyst Loading Optimization for Dry Cathode Operation in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis
Authors: Rossini Matteo , Koyuturk Burak , Khataee Amirreza , Lindbergh Göran , Cornell Ann 
Published: February 2024

With an increasing interest for green hydrogen as an important fuel for the global energy transition and as a raw material for green chemistry, extensive research efforts are currently devoted to increase the performance of water electrolysis technologies. In this frame work, Anion Exchange Water Electrolysis (AEMWE) has a strategic role promising to boost electrolytic hydrogen production without relying on scarce resources as AEMWE does not need Iridium or other Platinum group metals (PGM) catalysts, unlike Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis (PEMWE), to reach high power density [1].

In this work, the focus is on electrode optimization for dry cathode operation. Operating without a liquid feed on the cathode reduces the extent of the drying of hydrogen gas and simplifies the balance of the plant. However, water must be transported from the anode to the cathode where it is consumed by the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) [2]. Also, ionic connection from the membrane to catalyst surface must be provided by the ionomer without a supporting electrolyte which is generally employed in AEMWE to improve performance [1]. Under these premises, it is clear that using high catalyst loading to compensate for the intrinsic low activity of Platinum group metals-free (PGM-free) catalysts will result in lower utilization of the catalyst layer as a function of the electrode thickness [3].

To study how transport limitations hinder cathode performance, we manufactured catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) via decal transfer method and varied the cathode catalyst loading thereby adjusting catalyst layer (CL) thickness. RaneyTM Nickel served as the cathode catalyst and Super PTM Carbon as the conductive additive. It was found that increasing the catalyst loading between 0.65 mg/cm2 and 1.65 mg/cm2 greatly improved cell performance (Figure 1). However, cell voltage proved to be less sensitive to cathode loading for higher loadings. In fact, to reasonably improve the performance further, a loading of 4.55 mg/cm2 was necessary. Noticeably, the high frequency resistance (HFR) was found to be independent of catalyst loading (i.e. CL thickness) due to the high electronic conductivity of the cathode CL with carbon additive.

This works sheds light on how AEMWE performance are related to cathode catalyst loading when the cathode is dry operated. It is found that performance improvement is limited at high loading (above 1.65 mg/cm2). This shows how the ionic conductivity of the electrode should be improved to mitigate the low mass activity of PGM-free catalyst.

[1] Ayers, Katherine, Nemanja Danilovic, Ryan Ouimet, Marcelo Carmo, Bryan Pivovar, and Marius Bornstein. “Perspectives on Low-Temperature Electrolysis and Potential for Renewable Hydrogen at Scale.” Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering 10, no. 1 (June 7, 2019): 219–39.

[2] Koch, Susanne, Joey Disch, Sophia K. Kilian, Yiyong Han, Lukas Metzler, Alessandro Tengattini, Lukas Helfen, Michael Schulz, Matthias Breitwieser, and Severin Vierrath. “Water Management in Anion-Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers under Dry Cathode Operation.” RSC Advances 12, no. 32 (2022): 20778–84.

[3] Liu, Jiangjin, Zhenye Kang, Dongguo Li, Magnolia Pak, Shaun M. Alia, Cy Fujimoto, Guido Bender, Yu Seung Kim, and Adam Z. Weber. “Elucidating the Role of Hydroxide Electrolyte on Anion-Exchange-Membrane Water Electrolyzer Performance.” Journal of The Electrochemical Society 168, no. 5 (May 1, 2021): 054522.

Figure 1 Polarization curve of CCMs with different cathode catalyst loading. The cathode contains 65 % catalyst (RaneyTM Nickel), 10% ionomer and 25% Super PTM Carbon. NiFe nanoparticles are used in the anode with 5% ionomer (AP-1-HNN5-00-X). The measurements are conducted at 60 °C feeding 1 M KOH to anode.

Figure 1