Water management within the membrane electrode assemblies(MEAs)of electrochemical hydrogen compressors(EHCs)plays a crucial role in optimizing overall performance,particularly under low relative humidity(RH),where the...Water management within the membrane electrode assemblies(MEAs)of electrochemical hydrogen compressors(EHCs)plays a crucial role in optimizing overall performance,particularly under low relative humidity(RH),where the anode side tends to dry out.Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with amino groups(HMSNs-NH_(2))were integrated into the anode catalyst layers of EHCs to establish humidity-independent proton pathways through acid-base interactions with Nafion ionomers.These acid-base pairs between grafted–NH_(2)and sulfonic acid groups create continuous“proton highways”,enabling efficient conduction via the Grotthuss mechanism even at 50%RH.With only 2.5 wt%HMSNs-NH_(2)in the anode catalyst layer,hydrogen was compressed to 0.9 MPa in 60±3 s at 50%RH,representing a 55%reduction in compression time compared to MEAs with conventional Pt/C catalyst layers under the same conditions.This work overcomes the critical water-management bottleneck in EHCs,advancing the deployment of hydrogen energy technologies in arid environments.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.22208376,No.UA22A20429)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(buctrc202118,No.25CX07002A)+1 种基金the Qingdao New Energy Shandong Laboratory Open Project(QNESL OP 202303)the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation(ZR2024QB175 and ZR2023LFG005)。
文摘Water management within the membrane electrode assemblies(MEAs)of electrochemical hydrogen compressors(EHCs)plays a crucial role in optimizing overall performance,particularly under low relative humidity(RH),where the anode side tends to dry out.Hollow mesoporous silica nanoparticles functionalized with amino groups(HMSNs-NH_(2))were integrated into the anode catalyst layers of EHCs to establish humidity-independent proton pathways through acid-base interactions with Nafion ionomers.These acid-base pairs between grafted–NH_(2)and sulfonic acid groups create continuous“proton highways”,enabling efficient conduction via the Grotthuss mechanism even at 50%RH.With only 2.5 wt%HMSNs-NH_(2)in the anode catalyst layer,hydrogen was compressed to 0.9 MPa in 60±3 s at 50%RH,representing a 55%reduction in compression time compared to MEAs with conventional Pt/C catalyst layers under the same conditions.This work overcomes the critical water-management bottleneck in EHCs,advancing the deployment of hydrogen energy technologies in arid environments.
