PoreLab is pleased to host Dr. Antoni Forner Cuenca from TU Eindhoven on Wednesday 18th May for the next PoreLab lecture series.
Antoni is a brilliant scientist in porous media and mainly works on new applications of the field such as Fuel cells, redox batteries and etc…
When: Wednesday 18 May at 13:00
Where: Join Zoom Meeting
https://NTNU.zoom.us/j/99898003438?pwd=MTc1TXA2YjI0UTNidk0rYmZWei9pUT09
Title: Gas Diffusion Layers with Patterned
Wettability for Next-generation Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells
Abstract:
Multiphase flows govern the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Within the electrochemical cell, porous diffusion media determines the water and gas flow pathways through their microstructure and surface properties. Existing material sets do not enable precise engineering of water and gas flows which results in fundamental performance limitations. The creation of dedicated pathways at the micrometer scale for water removal within gas diffusion layers (GDLs) can facilitate advanced water management strategies, including improvements in power density through better mass transport and enabling evaporative cooling of the cell.
In this seminar, I will discuss our efforts to design, synthesize and implement gas diffusion layers (GDLs) with patterned wettability for next-generation polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Second, I will describe the use of microfluidic platforms coupled with neutron imaging and x-ray tomographic microscopy to understanding liquid water transport in GDLs. Third, the electrochemical characterization of operando cells combined with neutron imaging will be discussed. Additionally, the application of these novel GDLs to fuels cells to facilitate evaporative cooling will be presented. In the final part of the talk, I will discuss our current efforts to commercialize the technology, including the scale-up potential and technoeconomic analysis.