Determining the platinum loading and distribution of industrial scale polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell electrodes using low energy X-ray imaging

Low energy X-ray imaging (E < 25 keV) is herein demonstrated to be a rapid, effective and non-destructive tool for the quantitative determination of the platinum loading and distribution over the entire geometric area of gas diffusion electrodes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. A linear correlation was found in order for the average image grayscale intensity to be calibrated to the platinum loading, while the platinum distribution was mapped across the electrode geometric area. The resolution was found to be sufficient in identifying flaws and inhomogeneities in the catalyst layer of electrodes fabricated using an industrial spraying process. This technique proves to be an attractive option for the electrode performance study, the process optimization and quality control of electrode fabrication on an industrial scale.