Search

Electrode fabrication and membrane electrode assembly (MEA) processes are critical steps in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) technology. The properties of decal substrate material are important in decal coating technique for efficient transfer of catalyst layer. In the present study, MEAs are fabricated in decal method using 6 different decal substrates among which polypropylene (PP) is found ideal. Morphological, thermal, spectroscopic and sessile drop measurements are conducted for 6 decal substrates to evaluate the thermal and physicochemical properties. Studies indicate PP is thermally stable at hot-press conditions, having optimal hydrophobicity that hinders the coagulation of catalyst ink slurry cast. The pristine PP film has been identified to showcase 100% transfer yield onto the Nafion membrane without contamination and delamination of catalyst layer from membrane. The PP based MEAs are evaluated underconstant current mode in a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell test fixture. The performance is found to be of 0.6 V at a constant current density of 1.2 A.cm−2. Besides, the cost of PP-film is only 7.5% of Kapton-film, and hence the current research work enables the high throughput electrode fabrication process for PEMFC commercialization.

LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (NCM811) is a promising cathode material for long range electric vehicles. However, the material suffers severe chemo-mechanical degradation that can cause gradual capacity loss upon prolonged cycling. Surface passivation of NMC811 was demonstrated to help in retaining the structural integrity of the material upon extended cycling. Herein, we report the surface passivation of the NCM811 using Li2S and Na2S precursors via direct and simple wet chemical treatment, for the mitigation of parasitic reactions at the electrode electrolyte interphase. This phenomenon is accompanied by increase in the oxidation state of sulfur (from sulfide to sulfate) and partial reduction in the oxidation state of nickel. Electrochemical performance measurements show that the M2SO4 (M: Li, Na) protection layer on NMC811 behaves as an artificial cathode electrolyte interphase (ACEI) that enhance the capacity retention by 25% during prolong cycling with respect to the untreated NMC811. Postmortem morphology studies reveal that the thin metal sulfates coatings remain on the cathode even after 100 cycles, while the untreated NCM811 shows severe morphological instabilities. Our study demonstrates that by simple chemical treatment of NMC811 can enhance its overall stability and cycling performance for the development of advanced high energy density Lithium-ion battery systems.

Nanodielectrics are promising materials that can efficiently store a large amount of electrical energy that are desirable for many electronic and power devices. Control of polymer–particle interface in nanodielectrics is very critical in not only obtaining the improved quality of dispersion but also in altering the dielectric properties. Various surface modifying agents with linear (alkyl), aromatic (phenyl) and extended aromatic (naphthyl) chemical nature were employed at the epoxy–nano $$\hbox {TiO}_{2}$$ interface. All the surface-modifying agents were successful in passivating the nanoparticles surface and in obtaining the improved quality of polymer–particle dispersion and improved glass transition temperature comparatively. However, all the surface modifiers were not successful in obtaining the improved dielectric properties of the nanodielectrics, especially dielectric breakdown resistance. Only the extended aromatic group at the polymer–particle interface, which is more electron withdrawing in electronic nature than phenyl and alkyl structures, was successful in improving the dielectric breakdown resistance. Thus, the choice of surface-modifying agent based on its chemical and electronic nature is very important in optimizing the dielectric properties of nanodielectrics. Naphthyl phosphate-modified nano $$\hbox {TiO}_{2}$$ –epoxy composite films of $$\sim $$ 90–100 $$\upmu $$ m thick at 5 vol% particle concentration yielded higher dielectric breakdown resistance than pure epoxy polymer and thereby resulted in about 90% higher electrical energy storage density than the pure epoxy film.

Dielectric analysis of nanometre range size ceramic particles like TiO2 is very important in the understanding of the performance and design of their polymer nanocomposites for energy storage and other applications. In recent times, impedance spectroscopy is shown to be a very powerful tool to investigate the dielectric characteristics of not only sintered and/or pelleted ceramic materials but also particulates/powders (both micron-sized and nano-sized) using the slurry technique. In the present work, impedance spectroscopy employing slurry methodology was extended to study the influence of various chemical groups on the nanoTiO2 surface on the electrical resistivity and the dielectric permittivity of nanoparticles. In this regard, different organophosphate ligands with linear, aromatic and extended aromatic nature of organic groups were employed to remediate the surface effects of nanoTiO2. It was observed that the type of chemical nature of surface engineered nanoparticles’ surface played significant role in controlling the surface electrical resistivity of nanoparticles. Surface passivated nanoTiO2 yielded dielectric permittivity of about 70–80, respectively.