Innovative anode porous transport layers for polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are crucial for green hydrogen production.
• High production costs currently limit the widespread adoption of PEMWE technology.
• Porous transport layers (PTLs) are critical components influencing PEMWE performance and cost.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop cost-effective and high-performance 3D-printed gyroid structures for PEMWE anode PTLs.
• To investigate the impact of gyroid structure design on PTL performance.
• To compare the performance of 3D-printed PTLs with commercially available options.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of four different gyroid structures using 3D printing.
• Electrochemical testing of PTLs under simulated operating conditions.
• Platinum (Pt) coating of the optimized gyroid structure (G10).
• Comparative analysis with commercial PTLs.

Main Results:

• PTL structure significantly impacts PEMWE performance.
• The G10 gyroid structure demonstrated superior performance among the evaluated designs.
• The Pt-coated G10 electrode achieved a current density of 584.692 mA cm⁻² at 1.9 V, substantially outperforming a commercial PTL (C3) which achieved 138.488 mA cm⁻².
• The 3D-printed gyroid PTL offers a significant improvement in energy efficiency and cost-effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• 3D-printed gyroid structures are a viable and effective alternative for PEMWE PTLs.
• The gyroid structure design offers a promising pathway for enhancing PEMWE performance.
• This technology has the potential to reduce the cost of green hydrogen production and advance related energy technologies.