Ugur Pasaogullari

• PhD
• Professor at University of Connecticut

In the twenty-first century, proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) represent promising technologies for clean and efficient power generation. Proton exchange membranes (PEMs) are the key components in PEMFCs and PEMWEs. Currently, all proton exchange membranes (PEMs) employed in PEMFCs or PEMWEs are based on...

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) present a promising zero carbon emissions alternative to internal combustion engines. However, PEMFCs face performance limitations, particularly in heavy-duty vehicle applications, largely attributed to cathode electrode inefficiencies. Conventional electrode structures often result in non-ideal tort...

Proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) offer a long-term, carbon-emission free solution to the energy needs of the transportation sector. However, high cost continues to limit PEMFC commercialization. Replacing expensive platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts with PGM-free catalysts could reduce cost, but the low active site density of PGM-free...

The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) diagnostics using H2/N2 operation condition developed for fuel cell is useful tools to estimate the catalyst layer (CL) proton resistance. Currently, the resistance is estimated by fitting the measured EIS data to an equivalent circuit model. However, it is challenging to correctly determine the tran...

Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are a central focus in the quest for clean fuel production from water. A comprehensive computational modeling of PEMWE is essential for predicting and optimizing the performance of PEMWE, enabling efficient design and advancement in clean energy technologies. In this study, a 2-D, transient, mul...

Iron‐nitrogen‐carbon (Fe‐N‐C) single‐atom catalysts are promising sustainable alternatives to the costly and scarce platinum (Pt) to catalyze the oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) at the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). However, Fe‐N‐C cathodes for PEMFC are made thicker than Pt/C ones, in order to compensate for the lower in...

Recent years have seen a rise in interest in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) because of its high power density, high energy efficiency, and zero-emission characteristics. PEMFC-powered fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) have the potential to significantly lower the transportation sector's carbon dioxide emissions, paving the way f...

Novel electrocatalytic approaches are urgently needed to increase the energy efficiency and decrease the cost of hydrogen production by PEM water electrolyzers. Recently, we developed a novel catalytic platform, the layered coaxial nanowire electrode (LCANE), which enables PEM water electrolyzers with higher energy efficiency and reduced usage of p...

The energy needs of the modern world currently relies heavily on fossil fuels and energy conversion technologies that emit greenhouse gases (GHGs). These GHGs have been shown to have a detrimental impact on global climate. Climate change has created a vital shift in the way society thinks about energy conversion and storage. Today we are seeing hug...

Hydrogen gas is a promising green energy solution, with enormous potential for using hydrogen fuel cells to power vehicles, homes, and for portable power applications [1]. Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are a viable way for the production of green hydrogen, when used in conjunction with renewable energy sources such as wind a...

Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzer (PEMWE) could play a key role in green hydrogen production from intermittent renewable energy sources, yet, the high loading of scarce precious metals hinders widespread commercialization. Innovative electrode designs that decrease the precious metal loading while maintaining high performance can be a...

Unitized reversible fuel cells combine power generation (fuel cell) and fuel and oxidant generation (water electrolyzers) in a single device. Compared to discrete systems, the URFC is more advantageous in terms of mass, volume, and cost. The conflicting requirements of the two different operational modes introduces several technical challenges to m...

This work presents a novel porous transport layer (PTL), the hydrochannel PTL, that enables improved water management and record high round trip efficiency in unitized reversible fuel cells (URFCs). URFCs require rapid transport of O2 and H2O to provide high performance in both fuel cell and water electrolyzer operation, but cell design is complica...

In this study, scaling and performance assessment of a power-to-methane (PtM) system based on a new operation strategy is presented. The strategy is principally based on avoidance of hydrogen storage, selection of appropriate hydrogen content of product gas (mainly consisting of CO2, H2, and CH4), and catalyst loading in the reactor. In this regard...

Unitized reversible fuel cells (URFCs) are a promising grid scale energy storage solution that can leverage intermittent renewable energy sources. URFCs operate in both fuel cell (FC) mode during discharge and water electrolyzer (WE) mode during recharge. Inherent disparity in the requirement of the system components of these two operational modes...

Hydrogen based proton-exchange-membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) provide a sustainable, potentially decarbonized solution to meet the future energy needs for mobility applications especially heavy-duty vehicles. Water management plays a critical role in determining the performance and efficiency of PEMFCs. ¹ Low water content in the membrane-electrode a...

Substantial cost reduction is needed to commercialize polymer electrolyte fuel cells. As PGM catalysts are projected to account for ~42% cost of a fuel cell stack (1), replacement of PGMs with PGM-free catalysts is an attractive route to cost reduction. Over the past decade, extensive research efforts have led to significant improvements in kinetic...

Polymer electrolyte water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are a promising technology for the storage of energy from intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar. PEMWEs split water into hydrogen and oxygen electrochemically. Under typical operating conditions, the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) in the cathode is not limited by reactant transport...

Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) are a viable zero-emissions option for the electrification of the heavy duty transportation sector. However, PEMFCs still suffer from degradation of materials over the fuel cell lifetime. Cation contaminants can be generated from corrosion of bipolar plates and balance of plant components, water cont...

Improvement in the mass transport overpotentials of the oxygen reduction reaction provides a pathway for reducing the high cost associated to platinum group metal loading as well as enhancing the lifetime of electrodes in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). State-of-the-art PEMFCs typically have Pt loadings of the order of 0.3 mg Pt cm ⁻²...

This study focuses on analysis of a 12-bed vacuum pressure-swing adsorption (VPSA) process capable of purifying hydrogen from a ternary mixture (H2/CO2/CO 75/24/1 mol%) derived from methanol-steam reforming. The process produces 9 kmol H2/h with less than 2 ppm and 0.2 ppm of CO2 and CO, respectively, to supply a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel c...

Grid-scale renewable energy installations are gaining traction around the world. The addition of these intermittent resources onto the energy grids is resulting in challenges that need to be addressed [1]. The challenge with the mismatch between supply and demand has accelerated the need for grid-scale energy storage technologies. The viability of...

Rotating disk electrode experiments form a key experimental characterization technique for measuring electrocatalyst performance and durability. Numerous studies have been performed to gauge catalyst performance and suitability for polymer electrolyte fuel cells. However, those studies can show for a wide range of performance measurements for the s...

Life cycle cost modeling of hydrogen production via Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) and Solid Oxide (SO) electrolysis and discharge via fuel cell combination is investigated for large grid scale baseload storage applications. The cost of hydrogen in $/kg and storage energy produced in $/kWh are compared for four cases. The high-end simulations a...

Rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments form a key experimental characterization technique for measuring electrocatalyst performance and durability. While standard RDE testing protocols have been documented, it has been noted that catalyst film quality can skew measurements. The impact of relative humidity on drying is studied in an effort to pro...

Absorption of carbon monoxide (CO) on the platinum catalyst hampers the hydrogen oxidation and evolution reactions by affecting the reaction kinetics and reducing the electrochemical active surface area [1, 2]. In this paper, we use electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) to investigate the electrode poisoning on the hydrogen evolution reactio...

Effect of carbon monoxide (CO) on the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) on Pt electrode is investigated. Electrochemical hydrogen pump (EHP) cells are exposed to CO in hydrogen (H2) on the HER electrode with pure H2 maintained in the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) electrode. Cyclic voltammetry is utilized to measure carbon monoxide coverage on t...

As fuel cell vehicles (FCV) are introduced and commercialized, durability remains a critical characteristic towards competing with the lifecycle of conventional vehicle engines ¹ . Reforming and electrolysis still remain as the dominant production processes for the foreseeable future for the hydrogen fuel. Coupled with transportation, storage, and...

Foreign cation contamination causes accelerated degradation in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). Because foreign cations have a higher affinity to the sulfonic acid side chains, they replace protons in perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes, reducing ionic conductivity and lowering water content, leading to reduced oxygen reduction reaction...

Four hundred hour fuel cell tests were performed on commercial, as-received and Ca²⁺ contaminated catalyst coated membranes (CCMs) to evaluate the effects of long term exposure of foreign cations on fuel cell performance and degradation. Following testing, significant thinning of the cathode catalyst layer was observed across the entire active area...

A porous, electrically conductive getter layer, consisting of mixtures of metal oxide getter and an electrically conducting perovskite phase, has been fabricated for incorporation in between the cell interconnect and the cathode to capture gaseous chromium species. Getter layer has been electrochemically tested in half-cell configuration in the pre...

A porous, electrically conductive getter layer, consisting of mixtures of metal oxide getter and an electrically conducting perovskite phase, has been fabricated for incorporation in between the cell interconnect and the cathode to capture gaseous chromium species. Getter layer has been electrochemically tested in half-cell configuration in the pre...

An ex-situ evaluation of the effects of Ca²⁺ on the cathode of proton exchange membrane fuel cells was completed. A Ca²⁺ concentration of 0.9 mM in the HClO4 solution had no effect on the oxygen reduction reaction activity of a Pt/C catalyst. Upon increasing the Ca²⁺ concentration to 9 and 90 mM, the availability of Pt active sites slightly decreas...

The proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is one of the most promising renewable energy sources due to benign exhaust emissions and high energy efficiency. Pt/C is currently the primary catalyst for the slow oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics at the cathode of a PEMFC. The ORR, O 2 + 4H ⁺ + 4e ⁻ → 2H 2 O, indicates that this process pref...

Poisoning of platinum catalyst due to adsorption of carbon monoxide (CO) severely hinders the hydrogen oxidation-evolution reactions due to loss of electrochemically active surface area and changes to the reaction kinetics on the electrodes. [1,2] This paper presents electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) data for hydrogen oxidation and evolu...

Cationic contamination of polymer electrolyte fuel cells is known to cause performance degradation, particularly due to displacement of protons by foreign cations in the ionomer. Recent findings however, show that mass transport is a critical mechanism in the contamination process. X-ray computed tomography is used to examine the salt precipitation...

One of the most accurate methods for measuring the dynamic contact angle of liquids on solid surfaces is the Wilhelmy plate method. This method generally requires the use of rectangular samples having a constant perimeter in the liquid during advancing and receding cycles. A new formulation based on the Wilhelmy force balance equation to determine...

Foreign cations are shown to cause mass transport losses, in particular due to wettability changes in the micro-porous layers (MPL) and the carbon paper substrate, and have a major impact on the durability and the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. We studied the effects of cationic impurities on fuel cell system performance, especially...

Incorporation of a porous and electrically conducting chromium getter layer consisting of a mixture of complex metal oxide getter and electrically conducting perovskite phases has been examined as a potential cost effective approach for the capture of gaseous chromium species originating from the metallic interconnect alloys conventionally used in...

Chromium poisoning is one of the major causes of cathode degradation in high temperature electrochemical systems such as solid oxide fuel cells, electrolyzers and oxygen transport membranes. Chromium species, evaporating from the chromia forming metallic balance of plant and cell interconnect components, deposit at the exposed electrode surface and...

After a long and very successful industrial career spanning over 4 decades, Russ Kunz joined the University of Connecticut in 1992 and was one of the most passionate and influential voices in energy and energy systems at the university. Russ not only was the principle investigator of numerous research projects and awards, he was also instrumental i...

Cationic contamination of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) is dependent on a liquid water transport mechanism as the cations transport with the liquid water to reach the polymer membrane. A steady state, one dimensional, multiphase model is developed to examine the role of a hydrophobic microporous layer in the transport of liquid water acros...

A new membrane electrode assembly (MEA) assembled with a carbon foam flow field is investigated in comparison to a conventional channel/land flow field. The carbon form flow field is designed to reduce contact resistance and provide more uniform compression. In the new MEA, the carbon paper substrate is eliminated and the entire gas diffusion layer...

A conventional polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) incorporates a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) which is comprised of the anode catalyst layer-polymer electrolyte -cathode catalyst layer sandwiched between two gas diffusion layers (GDLs), and bipolar plates. Conventional GDL is typically comprised of highly porous carbon paper or cloth to help...

Cationic contamination in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEFCs) can lead to accelerated degradation and loss of performance. There are several mechanisms to introduce these cationic impurities; including transport with the inlet fuel/air streams, or from degradation of the fuel cell and balance of plant components. Many common cations ten...

To understand the effect of gas diffusion layer (GDL) in cation contamination in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), three membrane electrode assembly (MEA) configurations were soaked in a cationic (Ca²⁺) solution, with the major difference being whether catalyst coated membrane (CCM) was exposed (either completely or partially) to the cationic...

The main objectives of this study are to investigate the carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning and a mitigation method of high-level CO in a platinum (Pt) catalyst layer using hydrogen (H2)/CO mixture as the inlet fuel. Two separate levels of poisoning, 1000 and 10,000 ppm CO at the anode fuel, are considered and investigated in detail. For this purpose,...

The performance and durability of Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) were investigated by separately introducing HCl and five different chloride salts (AlCl 3 , FeCl 3 , CrCl 3 , NiCl 2 , and MgCl 2) into the air stream of an operating fuel cell. Under the same operating conditions and at a fixed chloride (Cl −) concentration of 50 ppm in air s...

Cationic contamination causes reduction in PEM fuel cell performance and durability, two of the key factors limiting commercialization of the technology. Recent findings have shown that gas diffusion layers help prevent certain airborne particulate salts from reaching the membrane and catalyst layers. This paper uses micro x-ray computed tomography...

A new membrane electrode assembly (MEA) concept is recently introduced, where the carbon paper substrate is eliminated and the entire gas diffusion layer (GDL) consists of only the micro-porous layer (MPL). The MPL is directly deposited onto both sides of the catalyst coated membrane (CCM), which simplifies the fabrication and assembly, and provide...

Distributed effects of cation contamination on polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) were investigated at a fixed concentration of 5 ppm of Ca2+ in the air stream of an operating fuel cell. A special purpose MEA was prepared using five layers of membrane, and four Pt wires (electrodes) were inserted between the membrane layers. These Pt electrodes...

Cationic contamination in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) is investigated by contaminating a catalyst coated membrane (CCM) in Ca2+ solution prior to a long term durability test. The cathode catalyst layer of the contaminated CCM becomes significantly thinner over the entire active area of the CCM as compared to an as-received, uncontaminated...

The effect of Ca2+ ion contamination on a low-Pt loaded PEFC cathode (0.1 mg/cm2) was investigated systematically. Calcium sulfate dissolved in water was injected at the cathode of a single cell in aerosol form under a constant current (1 A/cm2). For comparison, a baseline test was also performed at the same conditions with deionized water. The per...

A role of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in cationic contamination and mitigation has been studied with isopropanol (IPA) as a wetting agent of the GDL. For this test, the catalyst coated membrane is not in direct contact with the contaminating solution, being separated by both the GDL and the gasket. The hydrophobic layer of the GDL acts as a barri...

Distributed performance of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is studied both in galvanostatic and potentiostatic mode during in-situ injection of Ca2+ in the air stream using a segmented cell. In the galvanostatic mode, segments near the inlet are affected first by the contaminant resulting in decreased current density. At the same time, despi...

Cationic impurities on performance loss are investigated by incorporation of foreign cation into the MEA in a form of salt solution. The hydrophobic property of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) acts as a barrier for transport of aqueous contaminant solution to reach the catalyst-coated membrane (CCM). In our previous work, the role of the GDL in catio...

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), a promising source of clean energy in automotive application, still require durability improvement before commercialization. For instance, cationic impurities may get introduced into the PEFCs from the ambient air (e.g. roadside contaminants) and from the corrosion of stack and balance of plant components whi...

Nanorod arrays fabricated by physical vapor deposition (PVD) have many technological applications due to its flexibility in changing morphology and structure of the materials. Tailoring the nanorod structures, optical properties of the materials can be manipulated. There is a dependency of nanorod length as well as surface area in light absorbance...

A conventional gas diffusion layer (GDL) of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) is typically comprised of a highly porous carbon paper or cloth substrate, which is coated with a thin micro-porous layer (MPL) on the catalyst layer (CL) side. A small amount of hydrophobic material is applied to the GDL to enhance its water removal capabilities. At...

X-ray Computed Tomography (XCT) has been utilized extensively in the past decade to examine the internal features of PEMFC components, including extensive examination of the GDL structure [1-3] . Through the use of optics, micro-scale (and nano-scale) resolution has been achieved allowing for investigation of GDL’s, MPL’s and MEA’s for both in-situ...

The cationic impurities that get introduced into the PEFC from the ambient air (e.g. roadside contaminants) and from the corrosion of stack and balance of plant components which are known to have a severe negative effect on the durability and performance during the long-term operation. The performance losses are originated from (a) a reduction in p...

Many demanding issues still need to be addressed before full commercialization of PEFC can take place, and cationic contamination is one of the major obstacles. Foreign cations diminish proton conductivity and affect water content of the polymer electrolyte membrane, increasing the cell performance losses. Foreign cations may originate from the soi...

Effects of cationic impurities on performance loss are investigated by incorporation of foreign cation into the MEA in a form of salt solution. The hydrophobic property of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) acts as a barrier for transport of aqueous contaminant solution to reach the catalyst-coated membrane (CCM). In our previous work, the role of the G...

Owing to the sluggish kinetics of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), conventionally, high surface carbon-supported Pt serves as an electrocatalyst. However, carbon corrosion occurs at high potentials and conditions result in agglomeration/sintering of Pt catalyst particles and subsequent decrease in electrochemical surface area (ECSA) and ORR activit...

The versatility of a recently developed analytical effective medium theory (EMT) is tested by mimicking the structure of gas diffusion layer materials. The EMT was derived in a previous study [T. D. Myles, A. A. Peracchio, and W. K. S. Chiu, J. Appl. Phys., 115, 203503 (2014); T. D.Myles, A. A. Peracchio, andW. K. S. Chiu, J. Appl. Phys., 117, 0251...

The performance and durability of Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) were investigated by separately introducing HCl and five different chloride salts (AlCl3, FeCl3, CrCl3, NiCl2, and MgCl2) into the air stream of an operating fuel cell. Under the same operating conditions and at a fixed chloride (Cl⁻) concentration of 50 ppm in air stream, it...

Nanofibers are defined as fibers with diameters less than 100 nanometers. In this study, behaviours of activated carbon nanofiber (ACNF), carbon nanofiber (CNF), polyacrylonitrile/ carbon nanotube (PAN/CNT), polyvinyl alcohol/nanosilver (PVA/Ag) in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are investigated experimentally. This material was used as...

Hydrogen quality is critical for increasing the reliability, stability, and durability of polymer electrolyte (PEM) fuel cells. In this work, several hydrogen impurities have been studied to understand their effects on PEM fuel cell performance at various operating concentrations. Our studies have shown that the following impurities suggested by in...

The microstructure of a TGP-H-120 Toray paper gas diffusion layer (GDL) was investigated using high resolution X-ray computed tomography (CT) technique, with a resolution of 1.8 μm and a field of view (FOV) of ∼1.8 × 1.8 mm. The images obtained from the tomography scans were further post processed, and image thresholding and binarization methodolog...

Coupled cell performance evaluation, liquid water visualization by neutron radiography (NRG) and numerical modeling based on multiphase mixture (M2) model were performed with three types of GDMs: Micro Porous Layer (MPL) free; Carbon Paper (CP) with MPL; and CP free to investigate interfacial liquid water transport phenomena in PEMFCs and its effec...

To understand the role of the gas diffusion layer (GDL) in cation contamination, three methods were used to soak the PEFC MEA with a cationic solution, with the major difference being whether the CCM was completely/partially exposed to the cationic solution or separated by the GDL and gasket. Significant performance drop was observed with the CCMs...

A new catalyst coated membrane (CCM)/micro-porous layer (MPL) structure, which eliminates the carbon paper or cloth as a macroporous substrate was developed for a high limiting current density polymer electrolyte fuel cell. The MPL was fabricated directly on the CCM, forming an integrated gas diffusion layer (GDL). The goal of the MPL deposited on...

A steady-state, one dimensional computational model is developed to predict the effect of foreign cation contamination in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The model solves the coupled transport phenomena of cations, oxygen, and water. Foreign cation (i.e. Na+) contamination in the air stream found to significantly decrease the performance of...

PEFC performance during cationic contamination was studied by in-situ injection of 21.2 ppm level of Ca2+ in the air stream of a segmented cell. As expected, performance varied from the cell inlet to the outlet. During the contaminant injection, segments on the upstream end of the cell were affected first by the contaminant resulting in decreased c...

For cost reduction of fuel cell, it is necessary to realize high current density operation, which requires a thorough understanding of mass transport. However, especially interfacial liquid water transport between carbon paper (CP), micro porous layer (MPL), and catalyst layer (CL) are not fully understood. Coupled cell performance evaluation, liqu...

Cationic impurities may get introduced into Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells (PEFC) from the ambient air (e.g. roadside contaminants) and from the corrosion of stack and balance of plant components. Recovery from cationic impurities is investigated by simulating the cationic contamination with equilibrium uptake of the membrane electrode assembly (ME...

High power density operation is one path of cost reduction and commercialization of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), and mass transport limitations, particularly of oxygen hinders the operation at required high current densities. Most of the mass transport limitation in a PEFC occur in the gas diffusion layers (GDL), particularly of cathode....

Cost reduction is the most important issue for commercialization of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV)., and high current density operation is one of the solutions that is currently being considered. In order to realize high current density operation, however it is necessary to reduce mass transport resistance. Carbon paper (CP) is commonly used as...

Polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) is a key component of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEFC). It is vulnerable to cationic impurities that are present in the air and fuel stream or that may have originated from the cell, stack or balance of plant components. Almost all foreign cations have higher affinity to sulfonic acid group than proto...

A steady-state, one dimensional computational model is developed to predict the effect of foreign cation contamination in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The model solves the coupled transport phenomena of cations, oxygen, hydrogen, and water. Foreign cation (i.e. Na+) contamination in the air stream found to significantly decrease the perf...

Cationic contamination is known to cause performance degradation and reduced lifetime in polymer electrolyte based electrochemical systems. Calcium is an important cationic impurity due to its prevalence in roadside particulates and as an airborne contaminant. The role of calcium ion (Ca2+) is investigated in-situ by injecting a solution of calcium...

Through plane distribution of cationic contamination on polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) was investigated at a fixed concentration of 5 ppm of Ca2+ in the air stream of an operating fuel cell. A special purpose MEA was prepared using five layers of membrane, and four Pt wires (electrodes) were inserted between the membrane layers. Pt electrodes...

The effect of through plane cation contamination on PEFC was investigated using a multilayered membrane cell. The MEA, similar to Watanabe et al. (1, 2), was prepared using five layers of Nafion® 211 (~1 mil=25.4 μm thickness) membrane, and four Pt wires (electrodes) were placed between the membranes (Figure 1). Pt electrodes were used to monitor t...

In our previous studies (1-3), severe performance degradation of PEFCs was observed due to cationic impurities. In this study, we investigate how cations affect the spatial performance distribution in a PEFC using a segmented cell. The segmented cell hardware consists of an aluminum anode flow field, a segmented aluminum cathode flow field, two alu...

Microbial fuel cell (MFC) is a promising technology that explores biological and electrochemical processes to generate electricity from variety of organic compounds (wastes and wastewater) [1]. Developed at the beginning of 20-th century, regarding the significant achievements, MFCs are still “lab stage” devices. One way to overcome the “lab stage”...

Liquid water in channels is known to significantly impact performance in PEMFCs. This study strives to understand the effect of water interaction between channel, GDL and CL on cell performance by completing coupled cell performance evaluation, liquid water visualization by NRG method and numerical modeling based on M2 model. NRG results showed a p...