Degradation Study of Pt/C Catalysts under Various PEM Fuel Cell Conditions: Modeling Aspects

PEM fuel cells encounter primary limitations for practical applications including Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) degradations. In this work, suggested Pt/C catalyst degradation mechanisms are described in details. The effective factors on Pt/C catalyst durability such as temperature, humidity, H2/O2 partial pressure, catalyst contamination, carbon support, Pt particle size and alloy type are investigated. The suggested remedies for each subject are presented. Meanwhile, the related models and their abilities to improve system performance are considered.

Keywords:

PEM fuel cells , Pt/C catalyst degradation , modeling , Platinum oxidation , Platinum dissolution , Pt ion diffusion , Catalyst contamination