Variation of Membrane Electrode Assembly Catalyst Layer in Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell

Abstract

A unitized regenerative fuel cell (URFC) is a device that may function reversibly as either a fuel cell (FC) or water electrolysis (WE). An important component of this device is the Membrane electrode assembly (MEA). Therefore, this study aimed to compare the performance outcomes of MEA using electrodes with single and three catalyst layers. This study measured Electrochemical Surface Area (ECSA), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), X-ray Diffraction analysis (XRD), and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). Furthermore, the round-trip efficiency (RTE) of the MEA, as well as the performance in FC and WE mode, was measured. In comparison, The ECSA values of Pt-Ru/C and Pt/C with three catalyst layers were higher than the single catalyst layer. This result was supported by electrode characterization data for XRD and XRF. The respective electrical conductivity values of Pt-Ru/C and Pt/C with three catalyst layers are also higher than the single catalyst layer, and the performance of URFC using MEA with three catalyst layers has the highest value of RTE among the MEA performances of URFC, which is 100% at a current density of 4 mA·cm-2