Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells
| dc.contributor.advisor | Barendse, Paul | |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Chamier, Jessica | |
| dc.contributor.author | Balogun, Emmanuel O | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-02-22T11:36:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-02-22T11:36:11Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2019-02-21T10:35:07Z | |
| dc.description.abstract | Per-Fluoro-Sulphonic-Acid (PFSA) ionomers have been singled out as the preferable ionomers for making the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) membranes owing to their extensive intrinsic chemical stability and super sulfonic acid strength which is core to the PEMFC proton conductivity. This thesis presents a deeper analysis into these PFSA ionomer membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), presenting an electrochemical-analytical comparative analysis of the two basic types, which are the Long-Side-Chain (LSC) Nafion® and the ShortSide-Chain (SSC) Aquivion® ionomer MEA with emphasis on performance and durability which are currently not well understood. In particular, electrochemical circuit models and semiempirical models were employed to enable distinguishable comparative analysis. Also, in this thesis, we present a further probe into the effect of ionomer ink making processes, critically investigating the effect of the High Share Dispersion (HSD) process on both the Nafion® and Aquivion® ionomer membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The findings in this research provides a valuable insight into the performance and durability of PFSA ionomer membrane under various application criteria. The effect of operating parameters and accelerated stress testing (AST) on the PFSA ionomers was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electronic circuit model (ECM) analysis. The result of this study, shows that the ionomer ink making process for Nafion® and Aquivion® MEAs are not transferrable. Analysis of the PEMFC performance upon application of the high shear dispersion (HSD) process showed that Nafion® MEA had a 10.47% increase in voltage while the Aquivion® MEA had a 2.53% decrease in voltage at current density of 1.14A/cm2 . Also, upon accelerated stress testing, the Nafion® showed a 10.49% increase in its voltage while the Aquivion® on the other hand had a 7.16% decrease in voltage at 0.66A/cm2 . Thus indicating the HSD process enhances the performance of the Nafion® MEA and inhibits the performance of the Aquivion® MEA. | |
| dc.identifier.apacitation | Balogun, E. O. (2018). <i>Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29764 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.chicagocitation | Balogun, Emmanuel O. <i>"Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29764 | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.citation | Balogun, E. 2018. Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. University of Cape Town. | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.ris | TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Balogun, Emmanuel O AB - Per-Fluoro-Sulphonic-Acid (PFSA) ionomers have been singled out as the preferable ionomers for making the Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC) membranes owing to their extensive intrinsic chemical stability and super sulfonic acid strength which is core to the PEMFC proton conductivity. This thesis presents a deeper analysis into these PFSA ionomer membrane electrode assemblies (MEA), presenting an electrochemical-analytical comparative analysis of the two basic types, which are the Long-Side-Chain (LSC) Nafion® and the ShortSide-Chain (SSC) Aquivion® ionomer MEA with emphasis on performance and durability which are currently not well understood. In particular, electrochemical circuit models and semiempirical models were employed to enable distinguishable comparative analysis. Also, in this thesis, we present a further probe into the effect of ionomer ink making processes, critically investigating the effect of the High Share Dispersion (HSD) process on both the Nafion® and Aquivion® ionomer membrane electrode assembly (MEA). The findings in this research provides a valuable insight into the performance and durability of PFSA ionomer membrane under various application criteria. The effect of operating parameters and accelerated stress testing (AST) on the PFSA ionomers was determined using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and electronic circuit model (ECM) analysis. The result of this study, shows that the ionomer ink making process for Nafion® and Aquivion® MEAs are not transferrable. Analysis of the PEMFC performance upon application of the high shear dispersion (HSD) process showed that Nafion® MEA had a 10.47% increase in voltage while the Aquivion® MEA had a 2.53% decrease in voltage at current density of 1.14A/cm2 . Also, upon accelerated stress testing, the Nafion® showed a 10.49% increase in its voltage while the Aquivion® on the other hand had a 7.16% decrease in voltage at 0.66A/cm2 . Thus indicating the HSD process enhances the performance of the Nafion® MEA and inhibits the performance of the Aquivion® MEA. DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2018 T1 - Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells TI - Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29764 ER - | en_ZA |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29764 | |
| dc.identifier.vancouvercitation | Balogun EO. Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells. []. University of Cape Town ,Engineering and the Built Environment ,Department of Electrical Engineering, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29764 | en_ZA |
| dc.language.iso | eng | |
| dc.publisher.department | Department of Electrical Engineering | |
| dc.publisher.faculty | Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment | |
| dc.publisher.institution | University of Cape Town | |
| dc.subject.other | Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy | |
| dc.subject.other | Aquivion® | |
| dc.subject.other | Nafion®' Perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer | |
| dc.title | Comparative analysis of Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) fuel cells | |
| dc.type | Master Thesis | |
| dc.type.qualificationlevel | Masters | |
| dc.type.qualificationname | MSc (Eng) |