Three-dimensional modeling for a 100 cm2 PEMFC with different Pt loadings under cathode Pt catalyst degradation

The Platinum catalyst degradation is largely affected by the upper limit of voltage cycling potential (UPL) and operating temperature of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). This study integrated a physics based 1D sub-model for Pt degradation and a 100 cm2 3D fuel cell performance model. A quantitative analysis was conducted to assess the performance degradation of PEMFC with two different Pt loadings, one with a loading of 0.3 mg/cm2 and the other with a loading of 0.05 mg/cm2, undergoing 15,000 voltage cycles at various cycling UPLs and operating temperatures. The simulation results indicate a significant drop in performance for the PEMFC with a Pt loading of 0.05 mg/cm2 at a voltage cycling UPL of 1.0 V. Furthermore, it can be shown that the 0.05 mg/cm2 Pt loading PEMFC experiences a higher extent of performance degradation compared to the 0.3 mg/cm2 Pt loading PEMFC when the operating temperature approaches 90 degrees C.