1] University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble F-38000, France [2] CEA, INAC-SP2M, LEMMA, Grenoble F-380054, France.
1] University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble F-38000, France [2] CEA, LITEN, Grenoble F-38054, France.
Nat Commun. 2014 Oct 30;5:5229. doi: 10.1038/ncomms6229.
Proton exchange membrane fuel cell is one of the most promising zero-emission power sources for automotive or stationary applications. However, their cost and lifetime remain the two major key issues for a widespread commercialization. Consequently, much attention has been devoted to optimizing the membrane/electrode assembly that constitute the fuel cell core. The electrodes consist of carbon black supporting Pt nanoparticles and Nafion as the ionomer binder. Although the ionomer plays a crucial role as ionic conductor through the electrode, little is known about its distribution inside the electrode. Here we report the three-dimensional morphology of the Nafion thin layer surrounding the carbon particles, which is imaged using electron tomography. The analyses reveal that doubling the amount of Nafion in the electrode leads to a twofold increase in its degree of coverage of the carbon, while the thickness of the layer, around 7 nm, is unchanged.
质子交换膜燃料电池是最有前途的零排放汽车或固定式电源之一。然而，其成本和寿命仍然是广泛商业化的两个主要关键问题。因此，人们非常关注优化构成燃料电池核心的膜/电极组件。电极由负载 Pt 纳米粒子的碳黑和作为离子聚合物粘结剂的 Nafion 组成。尽管离子聚合物作为离子导体通过电极发挥着至关重要的作用，但对于其在电极内部的分布却知之甚少。在这里，我们使用电子断层扫描术报告了围绕碳颗粒的 Nafion 薄层的三维形态。分析表明，电极中 Nafion 的量增加一倍会导致其对碳的覆盖程度增加一倍，而层的厚度（约 7nm）保持不变。
