Evaluation of the PEM Water Electrolysis Performance using Sintered Type 304 Stainless Steel Fiber as Cathode PTL

Abstract

The electrolysis performance of PEMWE cells has been evaluated through an accelerated degradation test using sintered type 304 stainless steel fiber （Cell 1） and carbon paper （Cell 2） as cathode PTLs. Although the cell voltage of Cell 1 was higher than Cell 2, the cell voltage did not increase further with the progress of the accelerated degradation test. However, more detailed analysis disclosed the following findings. First, close observation of the stainless steel PTL of the test revealed a trace of corrosion attack. Second, the CCM in contact with the PTL was found to be contaminated with Fe, Ni and Cr in Cell 1. Moreover, the release rate of F^－ associated with membrane degradation in the Cell 1 was faster than Cell 2. These results indicate that the corrosion of the stainless steel PTL, the contamination of the CCM, and membrane degradation with release of F^－ detected in this study were not so serious to cause a change in the cell voltage.