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Understanding the Behavior of Electrosprayed Carbon Black‐Nafion Composite Layers
Author(s) -
Conde J. J.,
Chaparro A. M.,
FerreiraAparicio P.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.201700218
Subject(s) - carbon black , nafion , materials science , carbon fibers , chemical engineering , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , composite number , ionomer , microporous material , polystyrene , polymer , composite material , chemistry , copolymer , electrochemistry , natural rubber , electrode , engineering , fuel cells
Electrosprayed composite films prepared from carbon and Nafion are especially suitable to be applied as microporous layers and protective coatings for a number of for proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) components, due to of their particular properties. The electrospray deposition of carbon inks is a complex process that requires further study. In order to gain insight into the factors influencing the characteristics of electrosprayed films, the effect of some parameters has been analyzed. The solvent nature, the Nafion to carbon ratio in the ink, the ionization voltage (positive or negative) and the polymer distribution on the carbon surface are some of the studied variables. Surface characterization of these layers by techniques, such as XPS, SEM or thermal decomposition has provided very useful information about the structure of the layers and the interaction between their components. The results show that electrospray ionization induces a strong adsorption of the sulfonic groups of the ionomer on the carbon black surface, which is probably responsible for the high stability and durability of the layers and their superhydrophobic character. To our knowledge, this is the first study devoted to the analysis of the particular carbon‐Nafion interactions in electrosprayed films.