Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : October 20, 2018 - October 21, 2018
A pulse injection method was demonstrated to control ionomer distribution in catalyst layers of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Ionomer dispersion was intermittently sprayed onto the catalyst layers and then was dried in a controlled atmosphere in order to fabricate structurally-controlled catalyst layers. Through-plane ionomer distributions of the catalyst layers analyzed by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed that formation of an ionomer layer on the catalyst layer was controlled by adjusting an injection time. It was also shown that spayed ionomer could diffuse into the catalyst layer primarily filled with n-propyl alcohol, resulting in a graded ionomer distribution in the catalyst layer.