A combined method of small-angle neutron scattering and neutron radiography to visualize water in an operating fuel cell over a wide length scale from nano to millimeter

In order to visualize water generated in an operating polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC), a neutron radiography (NR) apparatus, composed of a scintillator, optical mirrors and a CCD camera, was installed at a sample position of the focusing and polarized neutron small-angle scattering (SANS) spectrometer (SANS-J-II) at research reactor JRR-3 at Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokai, Japan. By combining SANS and NR, we aim to cover a wide length scale from nanometer to millimeter. The new method succeeded in detecting a spatial distribution of the water generated in individual cell elements; NR detected the water in a gas diffusion layer and a flow field, whereas SANS quantitatively determines the water content in a membrane electrode assembly (MEA).