Lattice Boltzmann Model Investigation of Simultaneous Imbibition/Evaporation in PEMFC Cathodic Catalyst Layer Using Reconstructed 3D Image Data from Transmission Electron Microscopy
Authors: Bhaskaran Supriya , Jankovic Jasna , Surasani Vikranth Kumar , Vidakovic-Koch Tanja , Tsotsas Evangelos , Vorhauer-Huget Nicole 
Published: August 2024

Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) are widely used and significant attention is directed towards optimizing of the cathode catalyst layer. The critical focus revolves around refining the multi-phase boundary of the electrically conducting carbon support, the ion-conducting ionomer, the catalyst particles as well as the pore space that can be either occupied by oxygen (feedstock) or water (product). Challenges related to mass transport limitations of oxygen towards these multiple-phase boundaries, also denoted as active sites, persist, especially when liquid water increasingly saturates the pore space (Fig. 1). Furthermore, the evaporated water additionally hinders oxygen transport in the gas phase1,2. This study focuses on the investigation of pore-scale transport mechanisms inside of the cathodic catalyst layer, taking into account the counter-current diffusion of oxygen and water vapor in the gas phase as well as the generation of liquid water that increasingly saturates the void space. For this purpose, a multi-phase and multi-component pore scale Lattice Boltzmann model (LBM), coupled to two-phase reaction, was implemented. The LBM is tailored based on previous works3,4, including the localized generation of water at constant current densities, the imbibition of the pore structure with water counter-currently to the diffusion of oxygen, and the simultaneous evaporation of water. An actual 3D cathode catalyst layer from a commercial membrane electrode assembly, reconstructed from transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image data, was employed. It was imaged using a source voltage of 200kV and a current of 2 nA. The scanned sample had an approximate total volume of 500 × 500 × 100 nm3. From this, a 3D domain of 138 × 138 × 58 nm3 was reconstructed for this study. A 2D cross-section of the reconstructed image is exemplarily shown in Fig. 1. The in-silico study of water and oxygen transport through the catalyst layer elaborates the relationship between the rates of water invasion and evaporation in dependence of current density and catalyst layer structure. The critical conditions for water flooding are evaluated for different process conditions.

Fig. 1
Schematic representation of the cathode catalyst layer: The ionomer is represented in white; the carbon for electron connectivity is represented in gray; pore space for oxygen and water transport in yellow; the black circles represent the active sites, i.e., Pt-particles located at the multi-phase boundary of ionomer, carbon and oxygen-filled pores; the red circles represent the inactive sites, that have no connection to ion and/or oxygen transport pathways.

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Figure 1