The Influence of Hydrophilicity and Current Density of Anode PorousTransport Layer on Two-Phase Transport in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Water Electrolysis

Due to the opposite flow direction of gas and liquid inside anode porous transport layer (PTL) of polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis (PEMWE), gas hinders the transportation of liquids, thereby reducing the liquid saturation in PTL which is a crucial manifestation of the anode catalyst layer (CL) liquid supply. Liquid saturation is affected by factors such as the thickness of the transport layer and the current density. This study established a gas-liquid two-phase transport model for the anode porous transport layer in polymer electrolyte membrane water electrolysis and studies the variation of liquid saturation inside PTL under different hydrophilicity and current densities. The results show as the current density increases, the critical liquid transport thickness gradually decreases; the improvement of hydrophilicity has a significant enhancing effect on liquid transport. Increasing the hydrophilicity of PTL can significantly increase the saturation of liquid.