Résumé
The widespread adoption of clean energy converters such as proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) is mainly hindered by the degradation of their component materials over time. To overcome this issue, our approach is based on the preparation of nanocomposite materials based on inorganic and polymer nanofibers with specific structures and improved properties. The size and morphology of the fibres and the macroporous architecture of the corresponding webs may bring improved mass transport and mechanical properties, with beneficial effects on the performance and lifetime of the resulting membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs).
Among the methods for generating nanostructures, electrospinning is a top-down approach with the advantages of simplicity, high yield, low cost, high degree of reproducibility and ease to scale-up from an industrial perspective. The versatility of the technique allowed its application to all stages of the preparation of PEMWE materials, from electrolyte membranes to electrodes.
Polymer and inorganic fibre networks obtained by electrospinning are used to prepare reinforced membranes [1, 2]. This reinforcement, further intensified by ionic interactions between the fibres and the ionomer, extends the MEA lifetime and enables the fabrication of thinner membranes improving the PEMFC performance by lowering the electrical resistance.
Hierarchical structuring of electrodes was achieved using nanofibre catalyst supports and the deposition of catalyst nanoparticles, thin films or active sites on them. With this strategy we can prepare corrosion resistant supports including metal oxides doped with a range of aliovalent ions, with extended durability and high electrical conductivity [3]. A range of deposition techniques including Ni and Cu galvanostatic displacement, high overpotential pulsed Pt electrodeposition [4-6] and atomic layer deposition are investigated to prepare highly active ultra-low loaded electrodes.
This association of deposition techniques opens up a broad range of opportunities for tuning materials composition and architecture to develop and upscale a new generation of PEMFC cores.
References
[1] M. Zatoń, S. Cavaliere, D. J. Jones, J. Rozière, in
Handbook of Nanofibers,
Springer Nature Switzerland AG
2019
,
979-1015
.
[2] S. Giancola, M. Zatoń, A. Reyes-Carmona, M. Dupont, A. Donnadio, S. Cavaliere, J. Rozière, D. J. Jones,
J. Membr.
Sci.
2019
, 570-571, 69-76.
[3] I. Jiménez-Morales, S. Cavaliere, M. Dupont, D. Jones, J. Rozière,
Sust. Energy & Fuels
,
2019
,
3
, 1526 -1535.
[4] G. Ercolano, F. Farina, S. Cavaliere, D. J. Jones and J. Rozière,
J. Mater. Chem. A
,
2017
, 5, 3974-3980.
[5] M. A. Alpuche-Aviles, F. Farina, G. Ercolano, P. Subedi, S. Cavaliere, D. J. Jones, J. Rozière,
Nanomaterials
2018
,
8
, 668.
[6] G. Ercolano, F. Farina, L. Stievano, D. J. Jones, J. Rozière, S. Cavaliere,
Catal. Sci. Technol.
,
2019
, 10.1039/C9CY01514K.