Bernard Jan Bladergroen

Overview of Membrane Electrode Assembly Preparation Methods for Solid Polymer Electrolyte Electrolyzer

© 2012 Bladergroen et al., licensee InTech. This is an open access chapter distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Overview of Membrane Electrode Assembly Preparation Methods for Solid Polymer Electrolyte Electrolyzer

Electroconductive coatings on porous ceramic supports

The preparation of porous conductive coatings on porous ceramic supports for potential use in electrosynthesis, anodic decomposition of organic compounds and electrosorption units is described. The prepared conductive coatings on porous ceramic supports consisted either of carbon, gold or nickel, or a combination of carbon and gold. Carbon coatings were obtained by pyrolytic decomposition of liquid petroleum gas (LPG), gold was sputter coated and nickel coatings were formed by electroless plating. The permeability for water and electrical resistance of each coated support were measured and compared. Pyrolytic carbon was deposited throughout the support whereas the nickel and gold coatings were formed on the outer surface of the support. The resistance of a carbon coating could be regulated between 0.5 and 2 Ω cm−1 of support while the permeability of the carbonized support was as high as 75% of the permeability of the unmodified support. The nickel and gold coatings had no significant effect on the permeability and could be prepared with a resistance of 0.25 and 1 Ω cm−1 of support, respectively.

High-Performance and Durable Membrane Electrode Assemblies for High-Temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) fabricated by various catalyst layer (CL) deposit technologies were investigated for the application of high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (HT-PEMFC). The physical properties of the GDEs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and pore size distribution. The electrochemical properties were evaluated and analyzed by polarization curve, Tafel equation, electrochemistry impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results showed that the electrodes prepared by ultrasonic spraying and automatic catalyst spraying under irradiation (ACSUI) methods have superior CL structure and high electrochemistry activity, resulting in high fuel cell performances. Durability tests revealed the feasibility of the electrodes for long-term HT-PEMFC operation.

Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies at the Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) Systems Competence Centre

*Email: bgpollet@hysasystems.org The Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) programme is based upon the benefi ciation of South Africa’s large platinum group metal (pgm) resources. The present article summarises some of the progress by HySA Systems, one of the three Competence Centres under the HySA Programme, since 2008. Work has been carried out on membrane electrode assembly and stack development for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) for use in combined heat and power (CHP) supplied by natural gas and hydrogen fuelled vehicle (HFV) applications. The emphasis is on improved carbon monoxide tolerance and simplifi ed heat and humidity management, allowing simpler fuel cell systems to be designed. Metal hydrides modifi ed with palladium are being explored as poisoning-tolerant hydrogen storage materials for stationary and special mobile applications, and metal organic frameworks (MOFs) modifi ed with platinum as light-weight hydrogen storage with a high hydrogen storage capacity. Lastly research into hydrogen purifi cation using Pd membrane reactors is focused on membrane support synthesis, hollow fi bre seeding and development of the plating procedure.

Ceramic Membranes and Electrosorption Work Together to Purify Water

Abstract The development of effective methods of purifying water is being driven by the growing global demand for clean water and the scarcity of good quality water sources. Researchers at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa, have devised a novel pur f cation technique that combines electrosorption with the microfiltration properties of ceramic membranes. Professor Vladimir Linkov and Bernard Bladergroen explain.