V.D.5 Development of Micro-Structural Mitigation Strategies for PEM Fuel Cells: Morphological Simulations and Experimental Approaches

Identify/verify catalyst degradation mechanisms, i.e. • Pt dissolution and transport/ plating), carbon-support oxidation/corrosion, ionomeric thinning/conductivity loss, and mechanism coupling/feedback/acceleration. Correlate catalyst performance/catalyst structural • change as a function of unit cell operational conditions, catalyst layer morphology/composition, and gas diffusion layer (GDL) properties. Develop kinetic and material models for catalyst layer • aging, i.e. macro-level unit cell model, micro-scale catalyst layer model, and molecular dynamics model of the platinum/carbon/ionomer interface. Develop mitigation strategies for catalyst degradation • through modification of: operational conditions and component structural morphologies/compositions. Technical Barriers