CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 38Fuel Cells and Related MaterialsElectrocatalysts for Energy ConversionAdvancements in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

On the state and stability of fuel cell catalyst inks

Open access
Bapat, Shalmali, Giehl, Christopher, Kohsakowski, Sebastian, Peinecke, Volker, Schäffler, Michael, Segets, Doris·2021·Advanced Powder Technology
DOI 10.1016/j.apt.2021.08.030

Published version of a preprint

Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Catalyst layers (CL) as an active component of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM) form the heart of proton electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). For optimum performance of the fuel cell, obtaining suitable structural and functional characteristics for the CL is crucial. Direct tuning of the microstructure and morphology of the CL is non-trivial; hence catalyst inks as catalyst layer precursors need to be modulated, which are then applied onto a membrane, to form the CCM. Obtaining favorable dispersion characteristics forms an important prerequisite in engineering catalyst inks for large scale manufacturing. In order to facilitate a knowledge-based approach for developing fuel cell inks, this work introduces new tools and methods to study both the dispersion state and stability characteristics, simultaneously. Catalyst inks were prepared using different processing methods which include stirring and ultrasonication. The proposed tools are used to characterize and elucidate the effects of the processing method. Structural characterization of the dispersed particles and their assemblages was carried out by means of transmission electron microscopy. Analytical centrifugation (AC) was used to study the state and stability of inks. Herein, we introduce new concepts, S score and stability trajectory , for a time-resolved assessment of inks in their native state using AC. The findings were validated and rationalized using transmittograms as a direct visualization technique. The flowability of inks was investigated by rheological measurements. It was found that probe sonication only up to an optimum amplitude leads to a highly stable colloidal ink.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.apt.2021.08.030

Cites

7 of 7 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Probe sonication is highly efficient in preparing a highly stable colloidal ink.

    “Recently, probe sonication was found to be highly efficient in preparing a highly stable colloidal ink [166].”

    From Recent Advances on PEM Fuel Cells: From Key Materials to Membrane Electrode Assembly (2023) · cites this paper as [166]

    The Abstract says probe sonication produced a highly stable colloidal ink only up to an optimum amplitude. Section 4.3.2 reports that the higher-amplitude sample (UB+S70) was less stable than UB+S20. The citing sentence captures the favorable result but omits this important condition. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Appropriate and effective dispersion forms homogeneous catalyst ink, leading to higher colloidal stability.

    “Appropriate and effective dispersion process could form a homogeneous catalyst ink, leading to higher colloidal stability [158,160].”

    From Effect of Catalyst Ink and Formation Process on the Multiscale Structure of Catalyst Layers in PEM Fuel Cells (2022) · cites this paper as [160]

  • Analytical centrifugation (AC) is a nondestructive technique to study particle migration behavior.

    “For example, analytical centrifugation (AC) is a nondestructive technique to study particle migration behavior [166];”

    From Recent Advances on PEM Fuel Cells: From Key Materials to Membrane Electrode Assembly (2023) · cites this paper as [166]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 60

  1. Wang, 2011, A review of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells: Technology, applications, and needs on fundamental research, Appl. Energy, 88, 981, 10.1016/j.apenergy.2010.09.030 · DOI
  2. A. Albarbar, M. Alrweq, Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells, in: Prot. Exch. Membr. Fuel Cells, Springer, 2018, pp. 9–29. · DOI
  3. Bonifácio, 2011, Catalyst layer optimization by surface tension control during ink formulation of membrane electrode assemblies in proton exchange membrane fuel cell, J. Power Sources, 196, 4680, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.01.010 · DOI · Paper page
  4. Park, 2015, Optimization of catalyst layer composition for PEMFC using graphene-based oxygen reduction reaction catalysts, J. Power Sources, 286, 166, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.03.137 · DOI
  5. Ganesan, 2019, Ultra-low loading of platinum in proton exchange membrane-based fuel cells: a brief review, Mater. Renew. Sustain. Energy, 8, 10.1007/s40243-019-0156-x · DOI
  6. Cetinbas, 2014, Investigation of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell catalyst layer with bidirectionally-graded composition, J. Power Sources, 270, 594, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2014.07.148 · DOI
  7. Zhang, 2015, Design of a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell with variable catalyst loading, J. Power Sources, 291, 46, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2015.05.002 · DOI
  8. Xie, 2008, Fuel cell cathode catalyst layers from “green” catalyst inks, Energy Environ. Sci., 1, 184, 10.1039/b808613n · DOI
  9. Malek, 2011, Microstructure of catalyst layers in PEM fuel cells redefined: a computational approach, Electrocatalysis, 2, 141, 10.1007/s12678-011-0047-0 · DOI · Paper page
  10. Bredol, 2018, How the colloid chemistry of precursor electrocatalyst dispersions is related to the polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell performance, J. Power Sources, 402, 15, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2018.09.005 · DOI
  11. Randall, 2020, Physically based modeling of PEMFC cathode catalyst layers: effective microstructure and ionomer structure – property relationship impacts, J. Electrochem. Energy Convers. Storage., 17, 1
  12. Li, 2019, Correlation between electrochemical performance degradation and catalyst structural parameters on polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell, Nanotechnol. Rev., 8, 493, 10.1515/ntrev-2019-0044 · DOI
  13. Takahashi, 2015, Analysis of the microstructure formation process and its influence on the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel-cell catalyst layers, ChemElectroChem., 2, 1560, 10.1002/celc.201500131 · DOI · Paper page
  14. Huang, 2011, Effect of dispersion solvent in catalyst ink on proton exchange membrane fuel cell performance, Int. J. Electrochem. Sci., 6, 2551, 10.1016/S1452-3981(23)18202-2 · DOI · Paper page
  15. Gallo Stampino, 2009, Effect of different substrates, inks composition and rheology on coating deposition of microporous layer (MPL) for PEM-FCs, Catal. Today., 147, 30, 10.1016/j.cattod.2009.07.023 · DOI
  16. Mauger, 2018, Gravure coating for roll-to-roll manufacturing of proton-exchange-membrane fuel cell catalyst layers, J. Electrochem. Soc., 165, F1012, 10.1149/2.0091813jes · DOI · Paper page
  17. S.A. Mauger, Material-process-performance relationships for roll-to-roll coated PEM electrodes, US DOE 2017 Hydrog. Fuel Cells Annu. Merit Rev. (2017). · DOI
  18. Dixit, 2018, Catalyst layer ink interactions that affect coatability, J. Electrochem. Soc., 165, F264, 10.1149/2.0191805jes · DOI · Paper page
  19. Shukla, 2015, Analysis of low platinum loading thin polymer electrolyte fuel cell electrodes prepared by inkjet printing, Electrochim. Acta, 156, 289, 10.1016/j.electacta.2015.01.028 · DOI
  20. Lesch, 2015, Inkjet printing meets electrochemical energy conversion, Chimia (Aarau)., 69, 284, 10.2533/chimia.2015.284 · DOI
  21. D. Walter, Primary particles--agglomerates--aggregates, in: Nanomaterials, Wiley Online Library, 2013, pp. 9–24. · DOI
  22. Millington, 2011, A novel method for preparing proton exchange membrane fuel cell electrodes by the ultrasonic-spray technique, J. Power Sources, 196, 8500, 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2011.06.024 · DOI · Paper page
  23. Shukla, 2017, Experimental and theoretical analysis of ink dispersion stability for polymer electrolyte fuel cell applications, J. Electrochem. Soc., 164, F600, 10.1149/2.0961706jes · DOI · Paper page
  24. Gluesen, 2016, Slot-die coating: a new preparation method for direct methanol fuel cells catalyst layers, J. Fuel Cell Sci. Technol., 10, 1
  25. Balzarotti, 2015, Development and characterization of non-conventional micro-porous layers for PEM fuel cells, Energies, 8, 7070, 10.3390/en8077070 · DOI
  26. Ding, 2017, Review on penetration and transport phenomena in porous media during slot die coating, J. Polym. Sci. Part B Polym. Phys., 55, 1669, 10.1002/polb.24307 · DOI
  27. Soboleva, 2011, PEMFC catalyst layers: the role of micropores and mesopores on water sorption and fuel cell activity, ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces, 3, 1827, 10.1021/am200590w · DOI
  28. Therdthianwong, 2010, Fabrication and performance of membrane electrode assembly prepared by a catalyst-coated membrane method: effect of solvents used in a catalyst ink mixture, Energy Fuels, 24, 1191, 10.1021/ef901105k · DOI
  29. T.T. Ngo, P.H. Su, T.L. Yu, Conformation of nafion molecules in dilute isopropyl alcohol/water mixture solutions, in: Proc. 3rd International Workshop on Nanotechnology and Application, Vung Tau, Vietnam, AMN-005-P, 2011.
  30. Berlinger, 2018, Inherent acidity of perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer dispersions and implications for ink aggregation, J. Phys. Chem. B, 122, 7790, 10.1021/acs.jpcb.8b06493 · DOI · Paper page
  31. Shin, 2002, Effect of the catalytic ink preparation method on the performance of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, J. Power Sources, 106, 146, 10.1016/S0378-7753(01)01045-X · DOI · Paper page
  32. Mashio, 2010, Molecular dynamics study of ionomer and water adsorption at carbon support materials, J. Phys. Chem. C, 114, 13739, 10.1021/jp1034135 · DOI
  33. Thoma, 2018, Simple and reliable method for studying the adsorption behavior of aquivion ionomers on carbon black surfaces, Langmuir, 34, 12324, 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b02726 · DOI · Paper page
  34. Pollet, 2010, The use of ultrasound for the fabrication of fuel cell materials, Int. J. Hydrogen Energy, 35, 11986, 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2010.08.021 · DOI
  35. Segets, 2016, Analysis of particle size distributions of quantum dots: from theory to application, KONA Powder Part J., 48, 10.14356/kona.2016012 · DOI
  36. Ullmann, 2017, Performance of analytical centrifugation for the particle size analysis of real-world materials, Powder Technol., 319, 261, 10.1016/j.powtec.2017.06.057 · DOI
  37. Xu, 2010, Investigation of a catalyst ink dispersion using both ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering and cryogenic TEM, Langmuir, 26, 19199, 10.1021/la1028228 · DOI
  38. Mert, 2012, Using high pressure microfluidization to improve physical properties and lycopene content of ketchup type products, J. Food Eng., 109, 579, 10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2011.10.021 · DOI
  39. Zielińska, 2018, Anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity of citral: Optimization of citral-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) using experimental factorial design and LUMiSizer®, Int. J. Pharm., 553, 428, 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.10.065 · DOI
  40. Barrios, 2014, Polymeric coatings based on acrylic resin latexes from miniemulsion polymerization using hydrocarbon resins as osmotic agents, J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 131, n/a, 10.1002/app.40569 · DOI
  41. Detloff, 2007, Particle size distribution by space or time dependent extinction profiles obtained by analytical centrifugation (concentrated systems), Powder Technol., 174, 50, 10.1016/j.powtec.2006.10.021 · DOI
  42. Wang, 2018, Characterization of the suspension stability of pharmaceuticals using a shadowgraphic imaging method, Int. J. Pharm., 548, 128, 10.1016/j.ijpharm.2018.06.053 · DOI
  43. Wanyi, 2020, Comparison of emulsifying characteristics of different macromolecule emulsifiers and their effects on the physical properties of lycopene nanoemulsions, J. Dispers. Sci. Technol., 41, 618, 10.1080/01932691.2019.1610421 · DOI
  44. Lerche, 2013, Instability Index calculation, Dispers. Lett., 4, 1
  45. Harris, 2020, Array programming with NumPy, Nature, 585, 357, 10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2 · DOI · Paper page
  46. W. McKinney, Data structures for statistical computing in python, in: Proc. 9th Python Sci. Conf., 2010: pp. 51–56. · DOI
  47. Hunter, 2007, Matplotlib: A 2D graphics environment, Comput. Sci. Eng., 9, 90, 10.1109/MCSE.2007.55 · DOI · Paper page
  48. Baric, 2018, Quantitative characterization of mixing in multicomponent nanoparticle aggregates, Part. Part. Syst. Charact., 35, 1800177, 10.1002/ppsc.201800177 · DOI
  49. Lerche, 2014, Evaluation of particle interactions by in situ visualization of separation behaviour, Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng. Asp., 440, 122, 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2012.10.015 · DOI · Paper page
  50. Sobisch, 2018, Separation behaviour of particles in biopolymer solutions in dependence on centrifugal acceleration: investigation of slow structuring processes in formulations, Colloids Surf. A Physicochem. Eng. Asp., 536, 74, 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2017.07.038 · DOI
  51. Butenko, 2014, Critical onset of layering in sedimenting suspensions of nanoparticles, Phys. Rev. Lett., 112, 10.1103/PhysRevLett.112.188301 · DOI
  52. Uttinger, 2020, New prospects for particle characterization using analytical centrifugation with sector-shaped centerpieces, Part. Part. Syst. Charact., 37, 2000108, 10.1002/ppsc.202000108 · DOI
  53. Retamal Marín, 2018, Effects of sample preparation on particle size distributions of different types of silica in suspensions, Nanomaterials, 8, 454, 10.3390/nano8070454 · DOI
  54. Price, 1993, Ultrasonic degradation of polymer solutions: 2. The effect of temperature, ultrasound intensity and dissolved gases on polystyrene in toluene, Polymer (Guildf), 34, 4111, 10.1016/0032-3861(93)90675-Z · DOI
  55. Mohod, 2011, Ultrasonic degradation of polymers: effect of operating parameters and intensification using additives for carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Ultrason. - Sonochemistry, 18, 727, 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2010.11.002 · DOI
  56. Nguyen, 2011, Effect of ultrasonication and dispersion stability on the cluster size of alumina nanoscale particles in aqueous solutions, Ultrason. - Sonochemistry., 18, 382, 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2010.07.003 · DOI
  57. Safronova, 2020, The transformation and degradation of Nafion® solutions under ultrasonic treatment. The effect on transport and mechanical properties of the resultant membranes, Polym. Degrad. Stab., 178, 109229, 10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2020.109229 · DOI
  58. Peukert, 2015, Unified design strategies for particulate products, 1, 10.1016/bs.ache.2015.10.004 · DOI
  59. Rumpf, 1958, Grundlagen und Methoden des Granulierens, Chemie Ing. Tech., 30, 144, 10.1002/cite.330300307 · DOI
  60. Adamski, 2020, Does power ultrasound affect Nafion® dispersions?, Ultrason. Sonochem., 60, 104758, 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2019.104758 · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Bapat, S., Giehl, C., Kohsakowski, S., Peinecke, V., Schäffler, M., & Segets, D.
Affiliations
  • University of Duisburg-Essen (DE)
  • The Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Center (DE)
Corresponding author
Segets, Doris
ORCID
Venue
Advanced Powder Technology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-10
Volume
32
Issue
10
Pages
3845-3859
ISSN
0921-8831 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.apt.2021.08.030
OpenAlex
W3112195032
Cited by
38
References
7
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 4
FWCI
1.84
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Advanced Powder Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • ChemRxiv (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • Bundesministerium fur Bildung und Forschung Dienststelle Bonn
  • Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft und Energie
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Engineering › Electrical and Electronic Engineering › Fuel Cells and Related Materials
  • Physical Sciences › Energy › Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment › Electrocatalysts for Energy Conversion
  • Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Materials Chemistry › Advancements in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Keywords
catalyst ink, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, catalyst layer, catalyst coated membranes, ink stability, colloidal dispersions, analytical centrifugation, sonication, stirring, ink rheology, S-score, particle dispersion

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review