Xu Yang, Ye Dingding, Yang Chen, Li Jun, Yang Yang, Zhang Liang, Huang Jian, Zhu Xun, Liao Qiang
Key Laboratory of Low-grade Energy Utilization Technologies and Systems, Ministry of Education, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
Institute of Engineering Thermophysics, School of Energy and Power Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400030, China.
ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2025 Jun 11;17(23):34073-34085. doi: 10.1021/acsami.5c07788. Epub 2025 May 27.
Green hydrogen production through proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzers, powered by renewable energy sources and capable of operating at high current densities, has attracted considerable attention. However, two-phase transport within the anode porous transport layer (PTL) and catalyst layer (CL) significantly impacts the performance of PEM electrolyzers. In this work, the role of patterned wettability of the PTL is investigated in optimizing the gas distribution in the PTL, PTL/CL interface, and CL for PEM electrolyzers by a three-dimensional, two-phase, dual-scale pore network model. The dual-scale pore network modeling (PNM) approach analyzes the gas invasion process in the PTL, with a view to examining the impact of wettability on two-phase transport. Initially, gas invades larger pores at the PTL/CL interface, resulting in a rapid increase in the gas-phase saturation. As the invasion process continues, the rate of increase in the gas-phase saturation declines. By adjusting the width and ratio of hydrophobic regions in the PTL, gas-phase saturation can be effectively reduced. Notably, implementing patterned wettability with a hydrophilic/hydrophobic ratio of 3:1 and a width of 25 μm enhances water transport, reducing gas-phase saturation to 18%, which is over 14% lower than that observed for the PTL with original wettability.
通过质子交换膜（PEM）电解槽生产绿色氢气，由可再生能源供电并能够在高电流密度下运行，已引起了相当大的关注。然而，阳极多孔传输层（PTL）和催化剂层（CL）内的两相传输会显著影响PEM电解槽的性能。在这项工作中，通过三维、两相、双尺度孔隙网络模型研究了PTL的图案化润湿性在优化PEM电解槽的PTL、PTL/CL界面和CL中的气体分布方面的作用。双尺度孔隙网络建模（PNM）方法分析了PTL中的气体侵入过程，以研究润湿性对两相传输的影响。最初，气体在PTL/CL界面侵入较大的孔隙，导致气相饱和度迅速增加。随着侵入过程的继续，气相饱和度的增加速率下降。通过调整PTL中疏水区域的宽度和比例，可以有效降低气相饱和度。值得注意的是，采用亲水/疏水比为3:1且宽度为25μm的图案化润湿性可增强水传输，将气相饱和度降低至18%，比具有原始润湿性的PTL低超过14%。
