A procedure using phase inversion was suggested for synthesizing a polymer composite diaphragm material based on a polysulfone for water electrolysis with alkaline electrolyte. The diaphragms prepared using this material consist of a matrix of an alkali-resistant polymer with impregnated hydrophilic filler particles. They allow the power efficiency of water electrolyzers to be considerably enhanced relative to the known Russian and imported analogs.

Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with a specific surface area of ~600 m2/g has been synthesized and characterized. A series of membrane-electrode assemblies has been fabricated and tested as an element of a fuel cell. In the fabrication of these assemblies, rGO (0–10% of the weight of the Pt/Vulcan XC-72 electrocatalyst) was added to the electrocatalytic composition. The optimum rGO concentration in the active layer of a fuel cell is 5 wt %. At this rGO concentration, the specific power of the fuel cell is at least 20% higher than in the case of the rGO-free electrocatalytic layers.

The layout of a combined heat and power (cogeneration) plant based on renewable energy sources (RESs) and hydrogen electrochemical systems for the accumulation of energy via the direct and inverse conversion of the electrical energy from RESs into the chemical energy of hydrogen with the storage of the latter is described. Some efficient technical solutions on the use of electrochemical hydrogen systems in power engineering for the storage of energy with a cyclic energy conversion efficiency of more than 40% are proposed. It is shown that the storage of energy in the form of hydrogen is environmentally safe and considerably surpasses traditional accumulator batteries by its capacitance characteristics, being especially topical in the prolonged absence of energy supply from RESs, e.g., under the conditions of polar night and breathless weather. To provide the required heat consumption of an object during the peak period, it is proposed to burn some hydrogen in a boiler house.

Concerning performance, safety, reliability and durability issues, the membrane-electrode assembly (MEA) is probably the weakest cell component. Most performance losses and most accidents occurring during PEM water electrolysis are usually due to the MEA. The purpose of this article is to report on specific degradation mechanisms of the MEA and electrolyser in whole.

Методом ионно-плазменного распыления в установке магнетронного распыления на постоянном токе получены платиновые электрокатализаторы на углеродном носителе для электрохимических систем с протонообменной мембраной. В качестве носителей были использованы Vulcan XC-72, углеродные нанотрубки и нановолокна. В некоторых случаях исходный носитель подвергался предварительной химической обработке или металлизации. Методами термогравиметрического анализа, сканирующей и просвечивающей электронной микроскопии, рентгенофазового и рентгенофлуоресцентного анализа, циклической вольтамперометрии проведен анализ синтезированных образцов электрокатализаторов. Электрохимическая активность синтезированных Pt/C- и Pt–Pd/C-материалов исследовалась в топливном элементе, электролизера воды и бифунциональном топливном элементе с твердым полимерным электролитом. Было установлено, что ряд образцов обладает высокой удельной площадью активной поверхности (до 44 м2/г), высокой степенью химической чистоты и электрохимической активностью. Установлены качественные зависимости характеристик катализаторов от параметров процесса нанесения металла и свойств исходного носителя.

Nanostructured platinum catalysts for electrochemical systems with proton-exchange membranes (PEMs) have been synthesized by magnetron ion sputtering on a carbon support. The design of the powder support stirrer has been optimized to ensure uniform surface coverage with platinum metal nanoparticles. The deposition parameters (discharge power, deposition time, and bias voltage) that make it possible to obtain electrocatalysts with a large specific surface area (up to 44 m 2 /g) have been determined. The resulting catalysts have been studied by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The samples with platinum particles 3 to 4 nm in size uniformly distributed over the carbon surface and forming a single phase exhibit the greatest efficiency. The electrodes based on the synthesized electrocatalysts have been tested in a liquid electrolyte and as a component of a fuel cell and PEM water electrolyzer. The voltage across the fuel cell with the synthesized Pt/C electrocatalyst (44 m 2 /g) at a current density of 1 A/cm 2 is as high as 0.55 V, which corresponds to a specific power of 550 mW/cm 2 . Qualitative correlations between the parameters of the synthesized catalysts and the deposition conditions have been established.

Mass transfer in porous gas diffusion and catalytic layers of the cathode of a hydrogen-air fuel cell with a solid polymer electrolyte is considered. The transport processes are considered with allowance made for the partial flooding of porous systems of these layers with water, which forms during the fuel cell operation. The consideration also allows for the influence of the diluent gas present when air oxygen is used as the oxidant. The fraction of water-flooded pores is calculated within percolation theory as a function of structural parameters of the porous system. Conditions leading to the beginning of the gas diffusion layer flooding are presented.

Palladium-based nanostructured electrocatalysts on the Vulcan XC-72 carbon support for fuel cells with solid polymer electrolyte are synthesized and studied. In particular, electrochemical studies of the synthesized catalysts are carried out and membrane-electrode assemblies are assembled on their basis and tested. The test results indicate that platinum can be replaced with palladium in the hydrogen electrode of the fuel cells.