Microstructure reconstruction and characterization of PEMFC electrodes

• We established methods for the reconstruction of PEMFC CL and non-woven GDL.
• The detailed microstructures in CL and GDL are well resolved.
• An extensive characterization is performed w.r.t the reconstructed electrodes.
• We calculate transport properties in the reconstructed electrodes via LB models.

We reconstruct a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) catalyst layer (CL) and a non-woven carbon paper gas diffusion layer (GDL) by specially-designed stochastic methods. The reconstructed microstructures evidently distinguish all the participating components in the composite GDL/CL. Characterization analyses with respect to the reconstructed GDL/CL give important structural properties such as geometrical connectivity of an individual phase, pore size distribution, and volume-specific interfacial area. Self-developed Lattice Boltzmann (LB) models are established to calculate effective transport physical properties including effective thermal/electric conductivity and effective species diffusivity of the reconstructed GDL/CL, and permeability of the reconstructed GDL. Accordingly, we obtain tortuosity values for pore or solid phase in the reconstructed GDL/CL.