Impact of Cathode Current Collector on High Temperature PEM Water Electrolysis

摘要

The effect of cathode current collectors on polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE) was evaluated with I-V and I-high frequency resistance (HFR) characteristics. Results reveal that cathode current collectors can impact water electrolysis performance by controlling the amount of water accumulation there, which is proved with overpotential analysis and systematic operation such as feeding additional nitrogen gas to cathode. The hydrophilic cathode current collectors invited better performance than hydrophobic ones, because the hydrophilic ones gives less water accumulation there and enough water content in catalyst coated membrane (CCM). The thickness of cathode current collector did not impact the performance.