Experimental Investigation of Electrospray Coating Technique for Electrode Fabrication in PEMFCs

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Publication Details

Author list: Chingthamai N., Sombatmankhong K., Laoonual Y.

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication year: 2017

Volume number: 105

Start page: 1806

End page: 1812

Number of pages: 7

ISSN: 1876-6102

eISSN: 1876-6102

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85020739499&doi=10.1016%2fj.egypro.2017.03.523&partnerID=40&md5=69c5914113ad6aa58bfa0ecff6213364

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

The electrospraying technique is a promising method for liquid atomization by means of electric forces to produce uniformly distributed and dispersed particles in a range of nanometers. In this research work, the electrospray conditions were developed and thoroughly investigated in order to produce a well-distributed microstructure of a microporous layer (MPL) coated on a gas diffusion layer (GDL). The MPL suspension was mainly composed of carbon black (Vulcan XC-72R) using 5%wt Nafion solution and isopropanol as a binder and solvent respectively. Several fabrication variables in the electrospray deposition were investigated including an appropriate range of applied voltage to generate a stable cone-jet mode, the working distance between the needle and the GDL substrate in the range of 1.0-3.0 cm and the flow rate of MPL suspension in the range of 0.4-0.8 ml/hr with a fixed carbon loading 0.2 mg/cm2. The particle size distributions and the surface morphology of the as-prepared MPL were characterized using a scanning electron microscope. The suitability of electrosprayed MPLs was evaluated through their air permeability, electrical conductivity and coating adhesion. Accordingly, it was found that well-dispersed microstructure as well as excellent MPL properties was obtained with the working distance of 1.5-2.5 cm and the flow rate of 0.4-0.6 ml/hr. ฉ 2017 The Authors.

Keywords

Electrode fabrication, Electrospray coating, Microporous layer, Proton exchange membrane fuel cell