Cold start capability and durability of electrospun catalyst layer for proton exchange membrane fuel cell

The electrospun catalyst layer (E-spun CL) was found capable of improving both catalyst performance and durability under normal temperature operations. In this work, we first explored the reasons for this improvement, and then systematically compared the cold start capability and durability of E-spun CL with that of the commercial electro-sprayed catalyst layer (E-sprayed CL). Improved performance under normal temperature operations for E-spun CL was attributed to the optimized pore structure, which resulted in less mass transport losses. E-spun CL exhibited a better cold start capability in terms of more condensed product water due to longer survival time, possibly caused by the lower freezing probability of super-cooled water in micro-pores. After enduring several cold start tests, less performance and structural deterioration were observed for E-spun CL, mainly resulting from the high mechanical flexibility of porous nanofiber structure. (c) 2020 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.