| Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarship - Master’s (NSERC) 2021/22 | Award | 2021-09-01 | Eric Beaulieu |
| Mechanical Engineering Club’s Award for Excellence in Teaching2018 Mechanical Engineering Club’s Award for Excellence in Teaching University of Alberta | Award | 2018-12-03 | Secanell, M. |
| NSERC CREATE ME2 CREATE and Use Hydrogen Poster Contest1st place in poster contest. | Award | 2022-08-25 | Eric Beaulieu |
| Walter H Johns Graduate Fellowship 2021/22 | Award | 2021-09-01 | Eric Beaulieu |
| Bifunctional Oxygen Electrodes for PEM-Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell Fabricated By Inkjet Printing University of Alberta | Publication | 2024-10-22 | Luis Padilla, Jiafei Liu, Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| Contact and Performance of Low Anode Loading CCMs for PEM Water Electrolysis at Different Clamping Pressures University of Alberta | Publication | 2025-01-01 | Oskar Weiland, Lukas Stein, Luis Padilla, Patrick Trinke, Boris Bensmann, Secanell, M., Richard Hanke-Rauschenbach |
| Exploring the Impact of Cathode Ionomer Content on Alkaline Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (AEMFCs) Using Inkjet Printing Technique University of Alberta | Publication | 2024-10-22 | Jiafei Liu, Secanell, M. |
| Impact of Different Supports on the Performance of Ir Oxide Based Catalysts Synthesized Using Incipient Wetness Method University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-10-10 | Himanshi Dhawan, James Woodford, Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| Study of electrochemical performance of IrOx/ATO catalysts with different Ir loading in acidic water electrolysis University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-05-23 | Himanshi Dhawan, James Woodford, Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| A Numerical Study on the Impact of Low Electronic Conductivity on PEMWE Electrolyser Performance University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-05-30 | Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, Secanell, M. |
| Characterising PEMWE performance: a numerical study on the impact of ACL permeability and electronic conductivity University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-07-23 | Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, Secanell, M. |
| Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy of PEM Fuel Cells and ElectrolyzersInvited talk at the Telluride Workshop on Platinum Group Metal-free Electrocatalysts: Small Molecules Activation and Conversion University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-01-21 | Secanell, M. |
| Future Energy Symposium 2021 PosterPoster display and related Q&A | Activity | 2021-09-20 | Jasper Eitzen |
| Inkjet Printed Iridium Alloy Catalysts for Proton Exchange Membrane Water ElectrolysisPoster for Research Symposium on the following:
Hydrogen can be produced through water electrolysis with electricity from renewable energy making it a viable green alternative to fossil fuels. Catalysts used for water splitting are primarily made of iridium but are expensive, so alternatives that use less material are needed to become more commercially feasible. For this project we will use iridium alloy catalysts, IrNi and IrCu, which use less iridium by replacing some of it with the other metal. Small-scale tests have shown better activity than pure iridium due to the interaction between the metals. The catalysts will be deposited on the membrane using inkjet printing which has the benefits of precise control of deposition and can create low catalyst loading by forming very thin layers usually 3-5 µm. The performance of the catalyst coated membranes will be directly compared to state-of-the-art systems by evaluation in a proton exchange membrane electrolysis cell by measuring hydrogen production efficiency and cell durability. University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-09-20 | Eric Beaulieu, Secanell, M., Steven Bergens |
| Keynote presentation on the future of mobilityUAlberta EcoCar Unveiling -- Keynote presentation on the future of mobility University of Alberta | Activity | 2020-03-05 | Secanell, M. |
| Multi-phase analysis of polymer electrolyte fuel cells at multiple scalesThis presentation aims at highlighting recent advances in micro- and macro-scale multi-phase flow
simulation tools and how, when combined with detailed experimental validation, they can be used to
gain insight into the physical processes inside the fuel cell, such as water accumulation in catalyst layer with varying pore size distribution, water dynamics in the membrane, and the role of microporous
layers on mitigating water accumulation in the electrode.
University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-04-20 | Secanell, M. |
| Multi-Scale Analysis of Transport in Dry and Partially-Saturated Porous MediaMulti-Scale Analysis of Transport in Dry and Partially-Saturated Porous Media University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-04-14 | Secanell, M. |
| Panel discussion: Computational Tools for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Analysis and DesignPanel discussion: Computational Tools for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Analysis and Design University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-04-20 | Secanell, M. |
| PEMFC Cell & Water Management (Session Chair)PEMFC Cell & Water Management session at the 18th Symposium on Modeling and Experimental Validation of Electrochemical Energy Technologies University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-04-20 | Secanell, M. |
| Performance Loss Breakdown in Anion Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (AEMFCs)Anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) open the possibility of using cheaper non-platinum group metal (non-PGM) catalysts, and as a results they have received significant attention in recent years. Most AEMFCs still exhibit limited performance compared to proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The key performance limitations include: a)AEMFC anode and cathode overpotentials are not negligible (HOR kinetics on PGM catalysts in alkaline media is around two orders of magnitude slower than that in acidic environments), b)The water produced by HOR and gained by osmotic drags causes flooding in AEMFC anode. To improve the AEMFC performance, it is essential to know if the potential loss of the AEMFC is derived from anode or cathode. There are limited studies on analyzing the potential losses of the individual electrode of AEMFCs. Performance of individual electrode acquired by modelling studies was based on many estimated parameters . The existing experimental tool, the three-electrode AEMFC, showed unexplainable high anode overpotential, which needs further validation.
University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-07-25 | Jiafei Liu, Secanell, M. |
| Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell and Electrolyzer Electrodes: From Fabrication, Characterization and Testing to Multi-Scale Numerical SimulationPresentation at Hydrogenics/Cummins to attract additional funds and share research with Canadian companies University of Alberta | Activity | 2021-04-28 | Secanell, M. |
| Reducing PEM Water Electrolysis Anode Catalyst Layer Loading: Impact of Layer Conductivity and ActivityRenewable energy can be used in a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer to create green
hydrogen, thereby enabling large scale energy storage. One of the main disadvantages of this
technology is the use of rare and expensive precious metals such as iridium and platinum as the catalyst in the anode catalyst layer (ACL), making the reduction of the use of these materials a key priority to enabling further commercialization of this technology. This project uses numerical modelling, with experimental validation, to investigate the charge and kinetic characteristics of the ACL that allow for catalyst reduction to occur without inducing a significant reduction in performance. The study shows that ACLs with high electronic and protonic conductivity, and with a low kinetic activity, are sensitive to loading changes. Such ACLs were found to be representative of those composed of an Ir black catalyst, and such a loading dependence was demonstrated in-house. Highly active ACLs, with at least one phase exhibiting a very poor conductivity, were found to have a very poor catalyst utilization, allowing for catalyst reduction. IrOx based ACLs were found to exhibit such characteristics, however while there is experimental evidence in the literature for the predicted insensitivity to loading [Taie et al. ACS AMI 2020, Fujimura et al. ECS PRIME 2020], it was not reproduced in-house. It is hypothesized that the electronic conductivity of the ACL may be compression dependent leading to better utilization, or that the ACL fabrication method did not produce a uniform layer. University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-08-25 | Eric Beaulieu, Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, Himanshi Dhawan, Secanell, M. |
| Tetragonal Zirconia as Next Generation Support for Dry Reforming Solid Oxide Fuel CellThe usual structural support for ceramic fuel cells is nickel plus fully stabilized cubic zirconia containing 8 mol % Y2O3. This is the electrolyte composition as well. It has very good mechanical properties (at least relative to most ceramics). However, partially stabilized two-phase zirconia (tetragonal + cubic) containing 3 mol % Y2O3 has excellent mechanical properties due to monoclinic-to-tetragonal transformation toughening. Also, when mixed with nickel (the support also serves as one of the electrodes), it appears to slow down nickel agglomeration with an attendant loss of electronic conductivity. However, it has lower ionic conductivity that impacts the amount of triple phase interface (gas, electrode, electrolyte) available for electrochemical reaction. Preliminary results under syngas with the new support composition resulted in comparable, if not better, power output University of Alberta | Activity | 2017-10-24 | Taghi Amiri, Hanifi, A., Thomas Etsell, Jingli Luo, "Partha Sarkar" |
| Transient, multi-phase analysis of polymer electrolyte fuel cells: Insights from computational modeling at multiple scales and experimentsPolymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) vehicles have already met most customer requirements including long range, quick refuelling, and start-up at sub-zero temperatures, however the cost of the PEFC remains prohibitively expensive for large scale commercialization. In order to reduce their costs, PEFCs must achieve higher current densities and reduce platinum loading. High current density operation however results in increased water production which accumulates over time in the porous media of the PEFC, thereby blocking fuel and reactant transport and effectively shutting down the cell. In order to analyze fuel cell architectures and strategies to mitigate water accumulation at high current densities, a validated transient, multi-scale numerical model that couples gas and liquid water transport, electronic and ionic transport, heat transfer and electrochemical reactions is still needed. Over the past decade, our research group has developed, in the open-source software OpenFCST [1], pore level imaging, analysis and simulation tools to study gas and liquid transport and electrochemical reactions in porous electrodes [2]; multi-physics volume-average numerical simulation models to study transport and electrochemical reactions in membrane electrode assemblies of PEFCs [3]; and, transient analysis tools for PEFC electrochemical impedance spectroscopy [4]. These tools can now be used to predict how water accumulates in varying electrode microstructures, and combined to generate a comprehensive numerical model that accounts for water accumulation over time at multiple spatial scales. This presentation aims at highlighting these recent advances in simulation tools and how, when combined with detailed experimental validation, they can be used to gain insight into the physical processes taking place inside the fuel cell, such as, water accumulation in catalyst layer with varying pore size distribution [2], water dynamics in the polymer electrolyte membrane [4] , the role of the microporous layer on mitigating water accumulation in the electrode [3], and the effect of hydrogen cross-over on reducing the open cell voltage of low loading platinum electrodes. University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-04-20 | Secanell, M., Wei Fei |
| Transient, multi-scale, multi-phase analysis of polymer electrolyte fuel cells and electrolyzersIn this presentation, the micro-scale simulation tools developed in the open-source software OpenFCST to estimate pore size distribution and transport properties from tomographic and stochastic reconstruction images will be discussed. A cluster-based full morphology algorithm will be presented to study water intrusion. Finite element solvers will also be presented to study transport and electrochemical reactions in CLs with varying pore-size distribution [4, 5]. Our results show that the pore-size distribution can clearly affect transport parameters and the liquid pressure at which the onset of mass transport is manifested. Then, a transient, macro-scale (volume-averaged), multi-phase membrane electrode assembly model, based on the pore-size distribution framework by Zhou et al. [3], will be presented that can integrate micro-scale findings into the macro-scale model. This advanced model will be shown to be able to predict fast and slow linear sweep voltammograms of fuel cell operation at low and high current density, impedance spectroscopy of fuel cells at low and moderate current density, and to predict large fluctuations in cell voltage/current density at high saturation. Numerical results will be compared to experimental data obtained using a single channel fuel cell. A similar framework will be proposed for electrolysis applications. University of Alberta | Activity | 2022-03-15 | Secanell, M., Michael Moore, Manas Mandal |
| Development of Iridium Oxide catalysts for acidic water electrolysis | Publication | 2023-10-24 | Himanshi Dhawan |
| Improvements in Fabrication and Materials for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells | Publication | 2022-01-01 | Taghi Amiri |
| Numerical Modelling of Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis | Publication | 2023-12-15 | Michael Moore |
| Studying the microstructure of electrodes for low-temperature solid Oxide fuel cell and electrolysis qpplications | Publication | 2022-01-01 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad |
| Understanding the physical phenomena limiting the inkjet printed PEM water electrolyzer performancePolymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) are a promising technology to generate hydrogen using electricity from renewable sources of energy and water. The hydrogen can be used to reduce the emission of green house gases in a number of industrial processes, such as power grid, fertilizer industry, and transportation sector. PEMWE cells however suffer from high cost and low performance and durability. The focus of this thesis is to find the physical phenomena limiting the PEMWE cell performance and propose novel electrode designs that could reduce these limitations. To achieve above goal, a catalyst layer (CL) fabrication method capable of manufacturing well controlled CL, is required, as the PEMWE cell performance is highly dependent on the CL manufacturing method, composition and microstructure.
| Publication | 2022-04-20 | Manas Mandal |
| Electrolyte Supply Methods in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis Cells with Custom Inkjet Printed Catalyst LayersThis work was concerned with the construction and testing of anion exchange membrane water electrolysis (AEMWE) cells to study the effect of electrolyte feed method. Each cell used a catalyst-coated membrane (CCM) fabricated in-house by inkjet printing catalyst layers onto Aemion+ membranes using a Fujifilm Dimatix DMP-2850 printer. Inkjet printing allowed for precise control in the deposition of catalyst layer materials, but necessitated that printable inks containing catalyst nanopowder (platinum supported on carbon and iridium oxide) and ionomer (Aemion+ AP2-HNN5-00-X) be formulated. To develop ink formulae, a procedure was followed that began by selecting a base of propylene glycol and isopropanol with a dynamic viscosity and surface tension close to that required for printing. The ionomer solution was then added, and the mixture was re-characterized to ensure it still had the required rheology. Any necessary adjustments were made and the catalyst powder was finally added. This process resulted in inks that were successfully printed without the need to produce multiple complete inks, reducing the waste of expensive catalyst and ionomer.
Initial in-situ AEMWE cell tests were run to ensure that cell performance was repeatable. Five cells were tested, achieving this goal as the last four all performed similarly. Cell construction was altered between some of these cells, most notably the type of Aemion+ membrane was changed, i.e., increasing the thickness from 50 to 75 µm and altering the reinforcement type, the cathode porous transport layer (PTL) was changed from carbon to nickel, and the bipolar plate material was changed from titanium to nickel 400 alloy. These changes slightly improved cell performance by reducing the ohmic losses caused by resistance within the cells. Cells were tested by feeding 1 M potassium hydroxide (KOH) and compared to literature. The performance of the cells was similar to state of the art CCM cells using Aemion+, achieving a current density of 900 mA/cm2 at 2 V. Once good, repeatable cell performance was achieved, the same cell construction was used for the study on electrolyte feed method.
Four cells were used to study the effect of feeding aqueous 1 M potassium hydroxide solution to both electrodes, just the cathode, and just the anode was done for the first time in AEMWE cells. A reference electrode was also connected to the cell membrane using a strip of membrane passed out the side of the cell. Challenges were encountered with the experimental setup that resulted in some inconsistent measurements from the reference electrode, caused by cell operation. Despite this, it did allow for separate anode and cathode overpotentials to be measured. The cells tested in this work performed similarly with two-electrode and anode-only feed, resulting in 900 mA/cm2 at 2 V, whereas cathode-only feed achieve the lower 550 mA/cm2 at 2 V. Six hour constant-current stability tests also resulted in increased degradation for cathode-only feed. The change was due to poor anode performance, as the separate electrode potentials obtained using the reference electrode showed an increase in anode overpotential in this feed configuration. The lack of electrolyte in the anode catalyst layer possibly resulted in increased ionic resistance as the electrolyte normally supports this, or a loss of reactant hydroxide that would normally be supplied by the electrolyte. | Publication | 2023-05-01 | Jasper Eitzen |
| Fabrication and Testing of Inkjet Printed Electrodes for Anion Exchange Membrane Water ElectrolysisTo study the relatively novel technology of anion exchange membrane (AEM) water electrolysis in a scientific manner, a controllable and repeatable electrode fabrication method is needed. While inkjet printing has been successfully used to fabricate electrodes for proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolyzers, it has not been used for fabricating AEM-based water electrolyzer electrodes. The drop-on-demand nature of inkjet printing allows for the precise control of the electrode fabrication process such that the electrode loadings may be precisely controlled. This work investigates the suitability of the inkjet printing method for fabricating electrodes for AEM-based water electrolysis.
| Publication | 2021-12-31 | Scott Storbakken |
| Improving Utilization of Ir-Based Catalyst Layers in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers | Publication | 2024-01-08 | Eric Beaulieu |
| Measuring breakthrough and liquid permeability of gas diffusion layersMSc thesis submitted at Department of Chemical Process Engineering, University of Applied Sciences Mannheim
| Publication | 2019-10-01 | Lukas Protz |
| CREATE ME2 3 Minute Thesis Competition 2022Recorded 3 minute presentation for a 3 minute thesis competition. | Activity | 2022-05-03 | Jasper Eitzen |
| Edmonton Electric Vehicle + Hydrogen Expo 2022Participated in both days (Sep 24 & 25 2022) at the expo, answering questions from attendees about the ongoing work in the ESDLab. | Activity | 2022-09-24 | Jasper Eitzen |
| Green energy cycle with electrolyzers and fuel cellsElectricity can be converted into hydrogen by electrolysis. The hydrogen can be then stored and eventually re-electrified. The round trip efficiency today is lower than other storage technologies. The whole process is environmental friendly with water as the only by-product. | Activity | 2022-05-03 | Jiafei Liu |
| Producing Green Hydrogen through Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis using Low Loading Iridium-Nickel CatalystsThis was a 3 minute thesis presentation for the NSERC CREAT ME2 competition where the following was discussed:
Climate change continues to be a growing concern around the world, and to help reduce the negative effects of adding CO2 to our atmosphere we would like to transition to renewable sources of energy. To continue to decarbonize the production of electricity the Canadian Energy Regulator plans for a substantial amount of wind and solar to be added up until 2050 to help meet the countries climate goals. As of 2018 Wind and Solar only accounted for about 5% and <1% of electricity generation in Canada, respectively. Already in Alberta we have seen some of this increase as the percentage of Wind energy has gone up from 6% to 13% and solar has increased from <0.1% to 4% from 2018 to 2021. However, a disadvantage of these renewable sources is that they produce power intermittently. For example, if there is no wind or it is nighttime. To overcome this disadvantage, we can store the excess energy it produces at peak production times for later use. One way to store that energy is in the chemical energy of hydrogen since it can also be used as a fuel. Hydrogen can be produced through the process of electrolysis which uses the renewable electricity as the power source to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. One of the challenges of splitting water is that the reaction takes lots of energy and is slow which is why a catalyst is used to decrease the energy required. The best catalysts for this reaction tend to be made of iridium at the anode and platinum at the cathode which are a couple of the scarcest metals on the planet. My masters research focuses on the anode side reaction, and I am looking at a way to reduce catalyst cost and amount of iridium used by replacing some of it with another metal to make an alloy, in my case Nickel is used. This not only decreases the amount of iridium used but also has the potential to increase the efficiency of the reaction. This has previously been shown on a small scale but now I want to bring it to a larger scale and closer to what is being used commercially. This means using electrolyzer cells that can be stacked together called membrane electrode assemblies as shown on the slide. The cell type that I use is called a proton exchange membrane water electrolyzer. This is because the central membrane allows the transport of protons, which are hydrogen ions, from the anode to the cathode side where it recombines with the electrons to form hydrogen gas. Most importantly, experiments will be done to see how to make a functioning catalyst layer, look at the efficiency of the cell and, if possible, reduce the amount of catalyst we put on the membrane surface without significantly sacrificing performance. Research in this field will allow us to further utilize this hydrogen technology as it works to lower costs and save rare materials. Green hydrogen produced this way can be used in a fuel cell to reclaim the electrical energy which can be used to offset fossil fuels in both power generation as well as in fuel cell vehicles. This technology will surely help reduce the effects of climate change by providing a way to store large amounts of excess energy that remains carbon free from beginning to end. | Activity | 2022-05-03 | Eric Beaulieu |
| A Numerical Study on the Impact of Cathode Catalyst Layer Loading on the Open Circuit Voltage in a Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel CellThe open circuit voltage (OCV) in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is typically recorded as being approximately 300 mV lower than the equilibrium voltage computed by the Nernst equation. While a number of causes have been proposed, the voltage drop is generally attributed to the oxidation of crossover hydrogen in the cathode. A single phase, through-the-channel model is presented that includes hydrogen transport across the membrane, an empirical model for the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) fit to experimental data obtained at high potentials and a multi-step kinetic model to describe the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Model predictions were compared to experimentally obtained OCVs and the results show that the model is capable of capturing the experimentally observed changes in OCV with platinum loading, as well as fuel cell performance; and that, at low Pt loadings, small quantities of unreacted hydrogen leave the cathode because the HOR is kinetically limited by oxide blocking and anion adsorption. A parametric study is used to show that a minimum OCV is achieved at ultra-low loadings. Results also show that only a multi-step ORR model can simultaneously capture polarization data and the OCV University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-04-19 | Michael Moore, "Shantanu Shukla", "Stephan Voss", "Kunal Karan", Adam Zev Weber, "Iryna Zenyuk", Secanell, M. |
| Activating p-Blocking Centers in Perovskite for Efficient Water Splitting | Publication | 2018-12-13 | Bin Hua, Meng Li, Wanying Pang, "Weiqiang Tang", "Shuangliang Zhao", Zhehui Jin, "Yimin Zeng", Babak Shalchi Amirkhiz, Jingli Luo |
| Analysis of Inkjet Printed Catalyst Coated Membranes for Polymer Electrolyte Electrolyzers University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-05-01 | Manas Mandal, Antoni Valls, Niklas Gangnus, Secanell, M. |
| Charge transfer dynamics in RuO2/perovskite nanohybrid for enhanced electrocatalysis in solid oxide electrolyzers | Publication | 2018-12-14 | Meng Li, Bin Hua, "Jian Chen", "Yiming Zhong", Jingli Luo |
| Decoupling structure-sensitive deactivation mechanisms of Ir/IrOx electrocatalysts toward oxygen evolution reaction University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-03-01 | XueHai Tan, Jing Shen, Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| Determination of PEFC Gas Diffusion Layer and Catalyst Layer Porosity Utilizing Archimedes PrinciplePorous media transport properties, such as permeability and diffusivity, are proportional to the porosity of the sample, thereby making the ability to quickly estimate porosity of paramount importance. A simple and inexpensive setup, free of hazardous chemicals, is proposed to measure the total porosity and thickness of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) diffusion media. The experimental setup is based on Archimedes’ principle. It uses a combination of a wetting (n-octane or IPA) and a non-wetting (water) fluid to estimate both the solid and bulk sample volumes of the porous media, and then these values are used to estimate the porosity. The results from the proposed setup were validated using mercury intrusion porosimetry, scanning electron microscopy imaging, and compressive thickness measurements for a range of commercial gas diffusion layer and in-house fabricated catalyst layer samples. The values for porosity and thickness from the setup were in reasonable agreement with those obtained by the other methods. University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-01-01 | S Shukla, Wei Fei, Manas Mandal, J Zhou, M S Saha, J Stumper, Secanell, M. |
| Development of a Novel Proton Conducting Fuel Cell based on a Ni-YSZ SupportOne of the chief disadvantages of proton conducting fuel cells (and electrolytic cells) is a typical problem when ceramic materials are involved - poor mechanical properties. Robust oxygen ion conducting tubular cells have been fabricated with the Ni-yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) composite as the cell support (serves also as one of the electrodes). Not only does YSZ provide reasonable ionic conductivity and excellent chemical inertness but it is one of the best ceramic materials with respect to fracture toughness. This success has been capitalized on by using Ni-YSZ as the support for a tubular proton conducting cell. Reasonable power outputs from 600-700C were obtained. This could greatly increase the longevity and decrease fabrication costs of proton conducting cells. University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-04-24 | Hanifi, A., Navjot K Sandhu, Thomas Etsell, "Partha Sarkar" |
| Development of Proton Conducting Fuel Cells using Nickel Metal SupportThe use of nickel, an excellent electronic conductor and YSZ, an good ionic conductor to the cell support greatly increases the current collection capability and mechanical properties of proton conducting fuel cells. These results will have important implications in using such cells in electrolysis mode to generate hydrogen or especially in reversible mode for load levelling of renewable wind or solar energy. University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-06-25 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Navjot Kaur Sandhu, Hanifi, A., Thomas Etsell, "Partha Sarka" |
| Direct Microwave Sintering of Poorly Coupled Ceramics in Electrochemical Devices | Publication | 2022-08-01 | Taghi Amiri, Thomas Etsell, Partha Sarkar |
| Estimation of relative transport properties in porous transport layers using pore-scale and pore-network simulationsEstimation of relative transport properties in porous transport layers using pore-scale and pore-network simulations
University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-01-19 | Secanell, M. |
| Exploring the impact of ionomer content and distribution on inkjet printed cathodes for anion exchange membrane fuel cellsElectrode composition optimization is critical to achieving high and stable anion exchange membrane fuel cell (AEMFC) performance. In this article, inkjet printing is pioneered as a method to fabricate AEMFC electrodes with varying and graded cathode ionomer loading in order to assess its impact on electrode electrochemical properties, cell performance and stability. Inkjet printed catalyst layers (CLs) exhibited decreasing porosity with increasing ionomer content, maintaining a constant active area at 50 C under fully humidified conditions. The increase in active area and ionic conductivity with increasing ionomer content was detectable only at higher temperatures. At 60 C with 90% relative humidity inlet gases, the AEMFCs with cathode electrodes with optimal 20 wt% uniform ionomer content achieved a highly repeatable and stable performance of 0.53 W/cm2 with a total loading of 0.3 mg/cm2. Grading the cathode ionomer content, with higher concentration near the membrane and lower near the gas diffusion layer (GDL), does not improve cell performance, indicating neither cathode conductivity nor mass transport limits performance. When tested at 80 C, AEMFCs with a graded cathode ionomer structure (30 wt% near the membrane and 20 wt% near the GDL) demonstrated improved stability compared to those with a uniform 20 wt% ionomer content. This stability improvement is attributed to better water retention with more cathode ionomer content, as evidenced by the cell’s ability to maintain low resistance. University of Alberta | Publication | 2025-01-01 | Jiafei Liu, Secanell, M. |
| Good Practices and Limitations of the Hydrogen Pump Technique for Catalyst Layer Protonic Conductivity Estimation University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-01-01 | Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, Aslan Kosakian, Secanell, M. |
| High Performance Tubular Solid Oxide Fuel Cell based on Ba0.5Sr0.5Ce0.6Zr0.2Gd0.1Y0.1O3-d Proton Conductor ElectrolyteProton conducting electrolytes vs. oxygen ion conducting electrolytes have a major advantage in high temperature fuel cell/electrolysis cells - the fuel is not diluted as the cell is operated since water or CO2 is present at the air side rather than the fuel side. This novel composition was used to fabricate a tubular cell by a combination of slip casting and dip coating. Contrary to virtually all proton conductors, it appears chemically inert to both H2O vapour and CO2 as well as the other cell components. Correspondingly, it gave outstanding electrochemical performance producing a power output of 1 W/cm2 at 850C. This is among the highest output ever reported for a tubular cell with either a proton or oxygen ion conducting electrolyte. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used in an effort to separate the various polarization losses. University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-04-24 | Taghi Amiri, "Kalpana Singh", Hanifi, A., Thomas Etsell, Jingli Luo, "Venkataraman Thangadurai", "Partha Sarkar" |
| Improved Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolyzer Performance by Using Carbon Black as a Pore Former in the Anode Catalyst LayerThe porosity of anode polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzer catalyst layers (CLs) is usually low due to the use of an unsupported catalyst. By adding carbon to the Ir catalyst ink, which is then oxidized in-situ, the CL porosity can be increased from 58% to 77% while the number of CL cracks is decreased. The electrochemical surface area (ECSA) also increases from 21.5 to 26.9 m2 /g. Cell performance improves substantially for cells with carbon at both low and high current density. At 1.8 V, the current density increases from 3.16 to 3.70 A/cm2 with increasing carbon content. Volcano-shaped cracks, observed in used CL without carbon, disappear with the addition of carbon. These cracks are hypothesized to be caused by high gas pressures within the CL, which are reduced due to improved mass transport. The degradation rate also improves from 626 to 522 μV/h with carbon addition. Anode electrodes with and without carbon are also fabricated with a low electrically conductive IrOx catalyst. Results also show increased porosity, ECSA, and performance at low current density, however no improvement was observed at high current.
University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-04-20 | Manas Mandal, Secanell, M. |
| Insights on designing non-PGM catalyst layers at low humidity University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-04-01 | Yongwook Kim, Luis P Urbina, Tristan Asset, Secanell, M., Plamen Atanassov, Jake Barralet, Jeff T Gostick |
| Low loading inkjet printed bifunctional electrodes for proton exchange membrane unitized regenerative fuel cells University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-01-01 | L Padilla Urbina, Liu, J., Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| Measurement of Ionic Conductivity of PEM Water Electrolyzer ElectrodesIn this paper, the hydrogen pump technique is used to study the proton-transport resistance of polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzer electrodes. Three catalyst coated membranes made by sandwiching two membranes together were prepared, with two of them including an intermediate pseudo catalyst layer (PCL) with 35 and 55% wt. ionomer loadings. The proton-transport resistance was calculated by subtracting the overall resistance of the cell without a PCL from that with a PCL. The effect of the ionomer loading on the PCL proton conductivity was studied. As expected, the proton conductivity increased with increasing ionomer loading. The results are in line with the expectation based on the literature data and show that the hydrogen pump technique can be used to obtain the proton-transport resistance of the electrodes. University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-02-16 | Manas Mandal, Michael Moore, Secanell, M. |
| Measurement of the Protonic and Electronic Conductivities of PEM Water Electrolyzer ElectrodesReducing anode catalyst layer proton- and electron-transport resistances in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolyzers is critical to improving its performance and maximizing catalyst utilization at high current density. A hydrogen pump technique is adapted to measure the protonic conductivity of IrOx-based catalyst layers. The protonic resistance of the catalyst layer is obtained by subtracting the protonic resistance of an assembly of two NRE211 membranes hot-pressed together from an assembly of two NRE211 membranes with an IrOx intermediate layer. The through-plane and in-plane electronic conductivities were also measured using two- and four-probe methods, respectively. Using these techniques, the protonic and electronic conductivities of the IrOx catalyst layers with varying Nafion loading were measured. The results show that the limiting charge-transport phenomena in the IrOx catalyst layer can be either proton or electron transport, depending on the ionomer loading in the catalyst layer. These results are validated by numerical simulation, as well as by comparison to the high-frequency resistance of an electrolyzer with the same layer. University of Alberta | Publication | 2020-10-20 | Manas Mandal, Michael Moore, Secanell, M. |
| Microstructure and Long Term Stability of Ni-YSZ Anode Supported Fuel Cells: A ReviewA comprehensive review article focused on the importance that stability measurements be included in research papers as they are ultimately much more important than the initial electrolytic or fuel cell behaviour. Degradation issues is the main technical reason limiting widespread commercialization of SOEC/SOFCs. University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-05-12 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Hanifi, A., Miguel A Laguna-Bercero, Thomas Etsell, "Partha Sarkar" |
| Ni-YSZ a New Support for Proton Conducting Fuel CellsThe addition of only a small amount of YSZ (10 wt%) to the Ni support reduces polarization resistance and prevents severe Ni grain growth thereby providing a higher density of electrochemically active sites at the support /anode functional layer interface and more uniform distribution of fuel gas to the active sites. Perhaps most importantly it improves the mechanical properties of notoriously fragile proton conducting cells, a particularly critical consideration when developing reversible fuel cell/electrolysis cells that are particularly prone to cracking. University of Alberta | Publication | 2019-06-08 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Navjot Kaur Sandhu, Hanifi, A., Thomas Etsell, "Partha Sarkar" |
| Numerical Study of the Impact of Two-Phase Flow in the Anode Catalyst Layer on the Performance of Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysers University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-04-14 | Michael Moore, Manas Mandal, "Aslan Kosakian", Secanell, M. |
| Performance and Stability of Infiltrated Praseodymium Nickelate Cathodes for Low-Temperature Fuel Cell Applications University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-01-01 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Miguel A Morales-Zapata, Hanifi, A., Miguel A Laguna-Bercero, Á ngel Larrea, Partha Sarkar, Thomas Etsell |
| Silver sulfide anchored on reduced graphene oxide as a high –performance catalyst for CO2 electroreduction | Publication | 2019-04-23 | "Li Zeng", "Jun Shi", Jingli Luo, "Hanxin Chen" |
| Stability of infiltrated cathodes using Pr2NiO4+delta precursor for low-temperature fuel cell applications University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-09-01 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Miguel A Morales-Zapata, Hanifi, A., Miguel A Laguna-Bercero, "Ángel Larrea", Partha Sarkar, Thomas Etsell |
| State-of-the-Art Iridium-Based Catalysts for Acidic Water Electrolysis: A Minireview of Wet-Chemistry Synthesis Methods: Preparation routes for active and durable iridium catalystsWith the increasing demand for clean hydrogen production, both as a fuel and an indispensable reagent for chemical industries, acidic water electrolysis has attracted considerable attention in academic and industrial research. Iridium is a well-accepted active and corrosion-resistant component of catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). However, its scarcity demands breakthroughs in catalyst preparation technologies to ensure its most efficient utilisation. This minireview focusses on the wet-chemistry synthetic methods of the most active and (potentially) durable iridium catalysts for acidic OER, selected from the recent publications in the open literature. The catalysts are classified by their synthesis methods, with authors’ opinion on their practicality. The review may also guide the selection of the state-of-the-art iridium catalysts for benchmarking purposes University of Alberta | Publication | 2021-01-01 | Himanshi Dhawan, Secanell, M., Semagina, N. |
| Strong Metal-Support Interactions in ZrO2-Supported IrOx Catalyst for Efficient Oxygen Evolution ReactionThe use of ZrO2 as a support material for IrOx-based catalysts in oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalysis was studied using ex-situ characterization and rotating disk electrode electrochemical testing of supported IrxZr(1-x)O2 on ZrO2 of varying sizes. The catalyst exhibited high OER mass (specific) activity (712 Aurn:x-wiley:18673880:media:cctc202300668:cctc202300668-math-0001 ) and intrinsic activity (4.8 mAurn:x-wiley:18673880:media:cctc202300668:cctc202300668-math-0002 ) at 1.6 VRHE, attributed to IrxZr(1-x)O2 alloy formation, an interconnected network of Irx Zr(1-x)O2 nanoparticles and the presence of Ir(III)/Ir(IV) species throughout the bulk. It also appears to be resistant to Ir dissolution; however, accumulation of O2 bubbles in the catalyst microstructure and minor phase transformation of Ir(III)/Ir(IV) species during OER cause deactivation. Temperature-programmed desorption indicated a possible link between the observed high activity and higher amounts of adsorbed H2O and desorbed O2 species. University of Alberta | Publication | 2024-01-05 | Himanshi Dhawan, James Woodford, XueHai Tan, Semagina, N., Secanell, M. |
| Tailoring the solid oxide fuel cell anode support composition and microstructure for low-temperature applications University of Alberta | Publication | 2023-03-01 | Sajad Vafaeenezhad, Hanifi, A., Mark Cuglietta, Sadrzadeh, M., Partha Sarkar, Thomas Etsell |
| The Effect of Pore-Former Morphology on the Electrochemical Performance of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells under Combined Fuel Cell and Electrolysis ModesThis paper discusses a critical aspect of fabricating high temperature fuel cell/electrolysis cells - the amount and morphology of the pore former added to the electrodes prior to sintering that is used to create porosity to minimize both activation and concentration polarization. Fine spherical polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) proved superior to angular somewhat coarser graphite. The fine pore structure decreased activation polarization by increasing the triple phase boundary length but still provided sufficient porosity for unrestricted gas flow. Most importantly, reversibility experiments (alternating between fuel cell and electrolysis modes) showed no degradation in performance for over 400 h. University of Alberta | Publication | 2018-04-24 | Miguel A Laguna-Bercero, A Laguna-Bercero, Miguel, Hanifi, A., "Lucile Manard", Navjot K Sandhu, Neil E Anderson, Thomas Etsell, "Partha Sarkar" |
| Using Microwave Irradiation for In-situ Infiltration of Electrodes in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells | Publication | 2022-02-01 | Taghi Amiri, Thomas Etsell, Partha Sarkar |
| Water Transport Characterization of Anion and Proton Exchange Membranes University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-10-01 | Wei Fei, Aslan Kosakian, Jiafei Liu, Secanell, M. |
| Water transport in anion and proton exchange membranesWater balance in anion exchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) is crucial because water not only is produced in the anode but also functions as a reactant in the cathode. Therefore, accurate measurement of AEM water transport properties is important for AEM design to improve AEMFC performance and durability. Very few studies report water transport properties of AEMs; even in those limited studies, interfacial transport rates were either not considered in data analysis or not given as a function of water activity. In this work, the liquid–vapor permeation method was used to determine the water flux across the Aemion® AH1-HNN8-50-X, Fumapem® FAA-3-30/50, and Versogen™ PiperION-A40. Using three numerical models, the results were analyzed to understand whether diffusion or interfacial transport resistances were limiting, and the values were estimated. Our results indicate that interfacial transport is limiting; therefore, the interfacial exchange rate and its activation energy were determined. Water desorption rate of AH1-HNN8-50-X is similar to Nafion®, and the activation energy for this process is also similar at 53.4 kJ/mol. On the other hand, FAA-3-30/50 and PiperION-A40 exhibit two to three times faster desorption and a lower activation energy: 46.0, 41.8, and 46.8 kJ/mol, respectively. University of Alberta | Publication | 2022-12-21 | Wei Fei, Jiafei Liu, Secanell, M. |
