A Method for Spatial Quantification of Water in Microporous Layers of Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells by X-ray Tomographic Microscopy

A microporous layer (MPL) is typically added to the gas diffusion layer of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) to promote cell performance and water management. The transport mechanism of the water through the MPL is, however, not well understood due to its small pores (20-500 nm). Here, we demonstrate that polychromatic X-ray tomographic microscopy (XTM) can be used to determine the porosity and the spatial distribution of water in nanoporous materials and can quantitatively map the liquid water saturation of MPLs. The presented technique requires no a priori knowledge of the composition of the MPL and has a field of view on the millimeter scale, which is orders of magnitude larger than conventional electron microscopy techniques for nanoscale materials. The available field of view is compatible with existing operando cells for X-ray tomography, paving the way for the analysis of water transport in MPLs during operation.