On-line mass spectrometry study of carbon corrosion in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Abstract

The electrochemical corrosion of carbon catalyst supports in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells is investigated by monitoring the generation of CO2 using an on-line mass spectrometer at a constant potential of 1.4 V. Our results suggest that carbon supports with a high degree of graphitization are more corrosion-resistant, which results in a dramatic improvement of the catalyst durability. We also show that CO2 measurements performed using on-line mass spectrometry represent a time-effective and reliable method for studying the electrochemical corrosion of carbon supports in PEM fuel cells.