Open AccessCommunication—An Organosilane-Based Fuel Cell Ionomer that Mitigates Carbon Corrosion
Author(s) -
Richard Acheampong,
Reza Alipour Moghadam Esfahani,
Reza B. Moghaddam,
E. Bradley Easton
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of the electrochemical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 271
eISSN - 1945-7111
pISSN - 0013-4651
DOI - 10.1149/1945-7111/ab7a0a
Subject(s) - ionomer , corrosion , nafion , materials science , dielectric spectroscopy , catalysis , electrochemistry , durability , carbon fibers , ceramic , electrode , chemical engineering , composite material , chemistry , polymer , organic chemistry , composite number , copolymer , engineering
Sulfonated silica-ceramic carbon electrode (SS-CCE) consist of Pt/C catalyst and an organosilicate-based ionomer (instead of Nafion). We compared the durability of an SS-CCE and a Nafion-based electrode (NBE) composed of the same Pt/C catalyst. Each were subjected to an accelerated stress test (AST) that aggressively promotes carbon corrosion. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that while the NBE displayed severe carbon corrosion, the SS-CCE showed only slight signs of carbon corrosion. The SS-CCE’s enhanced durability arises from the covalent linkage of the organosilicate ionomer to the Pt/C surface, which served as a protective barrier that mitigated corrosion.