Effects of Bifunctional Oxygen Catalyst Layer Composition on Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell Performance

Proton exchange membrane unitized regenerative fuel cells (PEM-URFCs) can generate storable fuel (hydrogen) and oxidant (oxygen) which can then be used to produce power from the same cell. Combining electrolysis and fuel cell modes within the same cell allows PEM-URFCs to have the potential for lower mass, volume, and cost compared with discrete fuel cell and electrolyzer systems. The bifunctional oxygen catalyst layer (BOCL) catalyzes the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the same electrode, and there are wide potential differences and opposing mass transport phenomena involved within the BOCL when operating in electrolyzer or fuel cell mode. The BOCL composition, structure and morphology significantly affect performance and stability of PEM-URFCs. In our prior work, we showed bimetallic nanoframes provide bifunctional oxygen electrocatalysts with significantly higher activity compared with monometallic structures, evaluated using a rotating disk electrode configuration. 1 We will present our investigation of the effects of the BOCL composition, structure and morphology on URFC membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) prepared using ultrasonic spraying. Catalyst composition and loading were determined to influence URFC performance, and there are tradeoffs between fuel cell performance, electrolyzer performance, and catalyst cost. In addition to the effects of the active catalyst (either Pt for ORR or IrO 2 for OER), our work supports the non-catalytically active component influences MEA performance, which is in agreement with our finding of synergistic effects of Pt and IrO 2 within rotating disk electrode measurements. 1 We are also evaluating the effects of porous transport layers and different operating conditions on URFC MEA performance and durability over repeated cycling. References Godínez-Salomón, F.; Albiter, L.; Mendoza-Cruz, R.; Rhodes, C.P. Bimetallic Two-dimensional Nanoframes: High Activity Acidic Bifunctional Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Electrocatalysts. ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2020, 3 , 2404-2421 .