PNNL

Abstract

Studying the corrosion behavior of catalyst support materials is of great significance for understanding the degradation of PEM fuel cell performance and developing durable catalysts. The oxidation of Vulcan carbon black (the most widely-used catalyst support for PEM fuel cells) was investigated using various electrochemical stressing methods (fixed-potential holding vs. potential step cycling), among which the potential step cycling was considered to mimic more closely the real drive cycle operation of vehicle PEM fuel cells. The oxidation of carbon was accelerated under potential step conditions as compared with the fixed-potential holding condition. Increasing potential step frequency or decreasing the lower potential limit in the potential step can further accelerate the corrosion of carbon. The accelerated corrosion of carbon black was attributed to the cycle of consumption/regeneration of some easily oxidized species. These findings are being employed to develop a test protocol for fast screening durable catalyst support.