Communication—Modeling Polymer-Electrolyte Fuel-Cell Agglomerates with Double-Trap Kinetics
Publication Type
Journal Article
Date Published
04/2017
Authors
DOI
Abstract
A new semi-analytical agglomerate model is presented for polymer-electrolyte fuel-cell cathodes. The model uses double-trap kinetics for the oxygen-reduction reaction, which can capture the observed potential-dependent coverage and Tafel-slope changes. An iterative semi-analytical approach is used to obtain reaction rate constants from the double-trap kinetics, oxygen concentration at the agglomerate surface, and overall agglomerate reaction rate. The analytical method can predict reaction rates within 2% of the numerically simulated values for a wide range of oxygen concentrations, overpotentials, and agglomerate sizes, while saving simulation time compared to a fully numerical approach.
Journal
Journal of The Electrochemical Society
Volume
164
Year of Publication
2017
Issue
11
ISSN
0013-4651