Department of Chemical Engineering
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Browsing Department of Chemical Engineering by Author "AL-Tememy, Mogdam Gassy Hussein"
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Results Per Page
Sort Options
thesis.listelement.badge DEVELOPMENT OF HIGH PERFORMANCE BIMETALLIC CATALYSTS FOR PROTON EXCHANGE MEMBRANE FUEL CELL(2022-01-25) AL-Tememy, Mogdam Gassy Hussein; Devrim, YılserDespite the growing energy demand due to the growing population and lack of fossil fuels, which is a serious concern, there must be an alternative source where research focused on renewable energy sources. Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) is an important and alternative technology worldwide in automotive, portable and stationary applications due to their high-efficiency, zero-emission, lightweight, fast start-up and shut down properties. High Temperature PEMFC (HT PEMFC) eliminates some of the issues facing Low Temperature PEMFC (LT PEMFC) such as carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, humidity, heat and water management. In this thesis, Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Doped Graphene Nanoplatelet (MWCNT-GNP), MWCNT and GNP have been used as catalyst supports for the Pt:Pd bimetallic catalysts of the HT-PEMFC. The study of the dispersion of the catalyst nanoparticles on the different supports was achieved by using microwave assisted synthesis. The morphology, chemical structure and the percentage metal ratio of catalysts were characterized by using X‐ray diffraction (XRD), Thermogravimetric Analysis (TGA), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS). TGA has confirmed the improved thermal stability of catalysts. TEM was demonstrated dispersion and uniform distribution of the catalysts. The Electrochemical Surface Area (ECSA) of the catalysts was determined by using Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) method. ECSA of Pt:Pd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst and Pt:Pd/GNP and Pt:Pd/MWCNT catalysts were calculated as 43.8 m 2 /g, 53.5 m 2 /g and 71.7 m 2 /g, respectively. The lowest ECSA loss was determined at 48 % in Pt:Pd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst. The results indicated that better deposition, uniform distribution and higher electrochemical surface area of the Pt:Pd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst compared to the other catalysts. The performance of the bimetallic catalyst has been confirmed on the HT-PEMFC performance test based with the pure H2/air and reformate gas/air experiment at 160°C. Results of experimental performance test showed the current density at 0.6 V is 0.3 A/cm 2 and 0.24 A/cm2 with pure H2/air and reformate gas/air, respectively for Pt:Pd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst. If HT-PEMFC performance results are compared, it is determined that the best performing catalyst is Pt:Pd/MWCNT-GNP catalyst.