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Additive manufacturing (AM) of the complex devices for energy application remains an almost unexplored area, and the harsh acidic environment also limits the application of AM parts in water splitting for hydrogen production. Here, bipolar plates (BPs), which are used to transport reactants/products and conduct electrons in proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs), are printed from stainless steel (SS) with selective laser melting (SLM). Then surface treatments are employed on those BPs by thin film electroplating with Au, and the protective thin layer enables the utilization of AM SS parts to both cathode and anode sides of water electrolyzer cells and exhibits superior corrosion resistances and electronic conductivities. The Au-coated AM SS BPs deliver a low interfacial contact resistance (6.4 mΩ cm2 under 1.45 MPa) and an excellent performance in PEMECs (1.71 V at 2 A/cm2), and maintain a remarkable durability in the simulated anode environment compared with the uncoated AM SS BPs and conventional graphite BPs. This approach demonstrates the possibility of 3-dimensional printing fully integrated water electrolyzer cells at both anode and cathode sides.

In proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells (PEMECs), maintaining efficient two-phase transport is one of the most important functions of porous transport layers (PTLs). To enhance the two-phase transport in PTLs, thin/titanium liquid/gas diffusion layers (TT-LGDLs) are introduced in PEMECs, and their difference from the conventional Ti felt PTLs are analyzed in-situ through high-speed and microscale visualization and electrochemical characterizations. The visualization results show that unfavorable large slugs can be greatly reduced in the PEMEC with a TT-LGDL compared to the PEMEC with a Ti felt PTL. More importantly, the recovery capability of water starvation with different PTLs is studied. After water starvation, the PEMEC with the TT-LGDL can recover the water starvation much more rapidly than the Ti felt cell, benefiting from its short and straight-through flow paths. Furthermore, the TT-LGDL tends to generate oxygen bubbles that are almost six times smaller and 236 times more frequently than the Ti felt PTL, indicating significantly boosted removal efficiency of produced oxygen and PEMEC performance. This study offers new insights into the dynamic processes of two-phase transport and the recovery capability of water starvation for different PTLs, which will provide valuable guidance for further optimization of PTLs and performance enhancement of PEMECs.

State-of-the-art membrane-based electrolyzers such as proton exchange membrane electrolyzer cells, are costly, susceptible to degradation, and time-consuming for electrode evaluation and triple-phase boundary electrochemical reaction studies. Here, a simple convertible electrolyzer in membraneless and membrane-based modes is proposed. For the first time, this enables comprehensive investigations of water splitting with pure water, acidic and alkaline electrolytes in one cell. With the simple electrolyzer and high-speed visualization system, the influences of flow rate, electrolytes, concentration, and Nafion membrane on the oxygen evolution reactions (OERs), hydrogen evolution reactions (HERs) and electrolyzer performance are comprehensively investigated. Visualization results reveal that water splitting only occurred at the edge between the electrode and the Nafion membrane in pure water. However, they occurred on the whole electrode surface in alkaline and acidic electrolytes, indicating easily tunable reaction sites with the convertible electrolyzer. This demonstrates the feasibility of using the simple convertible electrolyzer for understanding the water splitting mechanism. The relation between electrolyte thickness and resistances with different electrolytes is also quantified. This work provides an insight for optimizing electrochemical devices while delivering an inexpensive and fast way for electrode evaluations and electrochemical reaction studies.

Polymer electrolyte membranes with catalyst layers are the most crucial components of proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer cells and fuel cells. Their water permeation and swelling behavior significantly impact the proton transport and performance in energy conversion devices. In this study, water permeations and swelling properties of Nafion membranes with different platinum (Pt) nanolayers under different conditions are investigated. Visualization results demonstrate the entire swelling process of Pt-coated Nafion membranes and reveal water transport in Nafion membranes and breakage of the Pt nanolayer. The water permeation of Nafion membranes with a 17 nm Pt nanolayer coating reduces from 40 to less than 20 μmol min−1 cm−2 at 80 °C and 70 kPa differential pressure. The water permeation of Nafion membranes with a 36 nm Pt coating is slightly lower than one with a 17 nm Pt coating due to higher transport resistance through the thicker Pt nanolayer and smaller cracks on the Pt nanolayer. Nevertheless, the water permeation of Nafion membranes with Pt nanolayers is still in a good range for proton transport applications, demonstrating the feasibility of Pt or other metal coating on Nafion membranes as catalysts or substrates in PEM-based energy devices.

Proton exchanges membrane (PEM) regenerative fuel cell electrolysis of water is of great recent interest as a hydrogen generation technology. Anode side titanium current collectors and separator plates used in these applications typically employ coatings of platinum group metals to achieve durability and performance requirements in the high voltage, oxidizing environment. The present work assessed the potential for lower cost surface modified titanium by both thermal (gas) nitridation and plasma nitridation approaches. The nitrided Ti was found to result in far less hydrogen uptake in coupon testing than did Pt-plated Ti. Short-term (48 h) single-cell performance at 25 °C was approximately 13% better (lower voltage) at 1.2 A cm−2 for thermal and plasma nitrided plates vs. untreated Ti. However, at 50 °C and 1.5 A cm−2, the thermally nitrided plate exhibited only on the order of 3% better behavior (lower voltage) compared to the untreated Ti and plasma nitrided Ti. Durability testing for 500 h resulted in only a minor degradation in cell performance, on the order of 1–2% voltage increase, with the best behavior exhibited by the thermally nitrided Ti plate. Despite their relatively stable cell performance, extensive local oxidation of the thermally nitrided and plasma nitrided flow field regions was observed.

In this work, semi-empirical Leverett J-Function relationships relating capillary pressure and water saturation are experimentally derived for commercial and experimental polymer electrolyte fuel cell materials developed for automotive applications. Relationships were derived for Mitsubishi Rayon Corp. (MRC) U105 and General Motors (GM) experimental high tortuosity diffusion media (DM), the micro-porous layer (MPL), and the catalyst layer (CL). The standard Leverett J-Function under-predicted drainage curves for the DM at high saturation levels and significantly under-predicted the capillary pressure requirements for the MPL and CL across the entire saturation range. Composite structures were tested to understand interfacial effects for DM|MPL and MPL|CL. Each additional layer was found to superimpose its effects on capillary pressure onto the previous layers. The MPL formulation tested increased in porosity from a 136 nm peak average to a 153 nm peak average with increased surface porosity of the substrate. Additionally, small voids and pockets that accumulate liquid water were found to exist in the MPL|CL interface. The results of this work are useful for computational modelers seeking to enhance the resolution of their macroscopic multi-phase flow models which underestimate capillary pressure using the standard Leverett J-Function.

A novel metallic porous medium with improved thermal and electrical conductivities and controllable porosity was developed based on micro/nano technology for its potential application in PEM fuel cells. In this work to demonstrate its applicability, the gas diffusion medium, made of 12.5 μm thick copper foil, was tested in an operational fuel cell. The small thickness and straight-pore feature of this novel material provides improved water management even at low flow rates. The performance does not decline at lower flow rates, unlike conventional gas diffusion layers. It has been shown that the performance can be further enhanced by increasing the in-plane transport. The improvements of such gas diffusion layer, including pore shape, porosity, and surface properties, are fully discussed.