RT Journal Article
T1 Electrospray deposition: a breakthrough technique for proton exchange membrane fuel cell catalyst layer fabrication
A1 Conde, Júlio J.
A1 Ferreira-Aparicio, Paloma
A1 Chaparro, Antonio
K1 PEM fuel cells
K1 Electrospray
K1 Electrohydrodynamic spray
K1 Review
K1 Superhydrophobic electrodes
AB This Spotlight article presents the state-of-the-art of electrospray deposition technique applied to the fabrication of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) components, mainly focusing on catalyst layers in gas diffusion electrodes. The atomization of a suspension of particles over a substrate under the influence of a strong electric field results in the growth of a film with macroporous morphology and many interesting properties. This so-called electrospray deposition has reported many noteworthy beneficial effects for the fabrication of the catalyst layers of gas diffusion electrodes of PEMFCs. The electrosprayed catalyst layers prepared from suspensions of catalyst particles and ionomers present a dendritic macroporous morphology with superhydrophobic character that improves the water management inside the cell and increases the performance by ∼20% with respect to standard electrodes prepared by airbrushing. Other interesting effects observed with electrosprayed catalyst layers are increased catalyst utilization and water absorption capabilities of the ionomer, improved performance under nonhumidified conditions, and a reduction in catalyst degradation. In addition, the electrospray deposition decreases platinum losses during fabrication thanks to the attractive electrostatic forces between the ion mist and the substrate compared with regular ink-based spray methods.
PB ACS Publications
YR 2022
FD 2022
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/29208
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/29208
LA eng
NO ACS Appl. Energy Mater. 2021, 4, 8, 7394–7404
NO The work is partially financed by the ELHYPORT project (PID2019–110896RB-I00), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation
DS Minerva
RD 23 abr 2026