Study on Anode Catalyst Layer Configuration for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell with Enhanced Reversal Tolerance and Polarization Performance

Hydrogen starvation leads to the extreme deterioration of fuel cell performance due to the induced voltage reversal and carbon corrosion in the anode catalyst layer (ACL) and gas diffusion layer. In this paper, reversal-tolerant anodes (RTAs) with different ACL configurations are proposed, where IrOx/C is used as a water electrolysis catalyst. Experimental results show that the separate IrOx/C catalyst layer of MEA samples, layered reversal-tolerant catalyst-coated membrane (layered-RTA), and reversal-tolerant gas diffusion electrode (GDE-RTA) significantly enhance the reversal tolerance and cell performance compared to conventional anode and common RTA consisting of a homogeneous catalyst layer mixed with IrOx/C and Pt/C (hybrid-RTA). Of these, GDE-RTA possessed a reversal tolerance time of 86 min, a power density of 1.42 W cm−2, and a minimum degradation rate of 2.4 mV min−1, suggesting it to be the best RTA structure. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectrum were used to detect the properties of each sample. Additionally, the degradation mechanisms of the three RTAs are thoroughly investigated and discussed by means of microstructural characterization through scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. This work provides novel ideas for the fabrication of a robust RTA by tuning the ACL configuration, which is practical for the commercialization of fuel cells.