抄録
Pressure effects on the water electrolysis performance of the cell using Nafion 117 for electrolyte were investigated. It was found that the internal resistance of the cell decreased with increasing the pressure, while it is expected that the chemical equilibrium shifts to the reactant side. Detail analysis of the internal resistance by a current interruption method suggests that decrease in the internal resistance results from the decreased IR loss, which is assigned to the increased conductivity of Nafion 117 film. On the other hand, the overpotential of cathode and anode slightly increases as the pressure increases. In particular, the concentration overpotential on both electrodes increased under an elevated pressure. Since the internal resistance decreased by elevating water pressure, water electrolysis efficiency was improved to a value of 65% at 20 MPa, 100 mA/cm2. Consequently, this study reveals that pressure shows the prospective effects on the water electrolysis performance of the cell using Nafion 117 electrolyte in an initial short period.
