Comparative Study on the Organic Solvent of IrO 2 -Ionomer Inks used for Spray Coating of Anode for Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolysis

• Published in: Journal of electrochemical science and technology Vol. 14; no. 3; pp. 283 - 292
• Main Authors: Hye Young Jung, Yongseok Jun, Kwan-Young Lee, Hyun S. Park, Sung Ki Cho, Jong Hyun Jang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 2023
• Subjects: Ink; 2-butanol; Spray coating; Polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis; Pure organic solvent
• ISSN: 2093-8551; 2288-9221

Currently, spray coating has attracted interest in the mass production of anode catalyst layers for proton exchange membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE). The solvent in the spray ink is a critical factor for the catalyst dispersion in ink, the microstructure of the catalyst layer, and the PEMWE performance. Herein, various pure organic solvents were examined as a substitute for conventional isopropanol-deionized water (IPA-DIW) mixture for ink solvent. Among the polar solvents that exhibited better IrO2 dispersion over nonpolar solvents, 2-butanol (2-BuOH) was selected as a suitable candidate. The PEMWE single cells were fabricated using 2-BuOH at various ionomer contents, spray nozzle types, and drying temperatures, and their performance was compared to the cells fabricated using a conventional IPA-DIW mixture. The PEMWE single cells with 2-BuOH solvent showed good performances comparable to the conventional IPA-DIW mixture case and highly durable performances under accelerated degradation tests.