STXM studies of novel fuel cell structures under various temperature and humidity conditions

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Hydrogen based, polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEM-FC) have great potential to dramatically reduce carbon emissions from systems used for both stationary and mobile power. The AFCC Automotive Fuel Cell Cooperation Corp. (AFCC, for short), which is co-owned by Ford and Daimler, is dedicated to producing economic, reliable, high performance hydrogen fuel cells optimized for use in automotive applications. A factor currently impeding wider use of fuel cells is their reliability. Soft X-ray spectromicroscopy is a light-source based technique with tremendous potential to reveal causes of fuel cell failure and to provide information that can be used for rational improvement to materials and processes. This project builds on an NSERC-supported collaborative research and development (CRD) project which will finish in Aug. 2013. Specifically we will use an advanced environmental cell for in situ X-ray microscopy studies, which was developed in the current CRD, to examine several fundamental issues related to PEMFCs performance under both typically and adverse operating conditions. This is expected to improve how fuel cell materials are engineered to be robust in cold climates.