In-situ visualization of N2 evolution in operating direct hydrazine hydrate fuel cell by soft X-ray radiography

Soft X-ray radiography technique was firstly applied to operating direct hydrazine hydrate fuel cell (DHFCs) in order to visualize N2 gas behaviors with high spatial and temporal resolution. Two different cells for in-situ visualization of N2 gas in the DHFCs in in-plane and through-plane direction were designed and fabricated. The utilization of soft X-ray made the visualization of generated N2 behavior in the DHFC possible with the spatial resolution of 1.5 μm and the temporal resolution of 2.0 s frame−1. In the in-plane visualization, the inhomogeneous N2 gas distribution, suggesting non-uniform reaction distribution in the anode of DHFC, was observed. In the through-plane visualization, N2 gas accumulation under the rib of anode and discharge to the channel was clearly observed, which are related with cell performance instability.