Projects

The aim of the project is to achieve a positive step change in the level of knowledge on morphology and properties of porous PEM fuel cells catalyst layers. For this purpose an analysis method to investigate the bimodal nano porous catalyst layer is developed. The method is based on the application of scanning electron microscopy and focused ion beam technique (FIB/SEM) to acquire three-dimensional images. A special emphasis is put on the investigation of the relationship between morphology changes in the catalyst layer and on degradation phenomena. For this purpose diffusivities and conductivities of the catalyst layer will be simulated and utilized for a numeric upscaling on cell level. The vision of a virtual material design will be implemented by determining suitable stochastic descriptors of a catalyst layer and reconstructing them stochastically by simulated annealing. The idea is to clarify the relationship between the most important physical transport parameters and the stochastic descriptors describing these layers. Hypotheses for the improvement of the layer morphology based on stochastic reconstruction will be developed.