The University of Osaka · Engineering
Professor Shohji Tsushima's research lab specializes in advanced electrochemical energy conversion and storage systems, with a primary focus on polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) and redox flow batteries. The lab investigates fundamental transport phenomena—particularly water management, membrane hydration, and mass transport—using innovative in-situ diagnostic techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Key research directions include understanding degradation mechanisms (e.g., due to SO₂ poisoning), optimizing electrode architectures for improved performance, and developing diagnostic tools to visualize water distribution and structural defects like cracks and voids in membrane electrode assemblies. The lab also explores the interplay between material properties and system performance to enhance durability and efficiency in electrochemical devices.
Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to measure the spatial distribution of the water content within a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) under fuel cell operation is described. By designing and building a fuel cell that can operate in an MRI system and making measurements during the cell operation, the water concentration gradient in the PEM and the overall water content decreased with an increase of the cell current. Furthermore, the water content in the anode side of the PEM decreased significant
The fibrous electrodes used in redox flow batteries are a key component of the batteries and have a determining effect on their performance. In this work, a two-dimensional numerical model of redox flow batteries was developed and used to optimize the architecture of the electrodes employed in vanadium redox flow batteries with interdigitated flow fields. The developed model was validated and subsequently used to determine the optimized electrode architecture. During the optimization process, we
In this review, an overview of cracks and interfacial voids formed in membrane electrode assemblies in polymer electrolyte fuel cells is presented. State-of-the-art of findings on formation processes of the cracks and the voids are described together with recent advances on development of characterization and diagnostic tools. The drawbacks and potentials of the cracks and the interfacial voids in the MEAs are also discussed. The cracks and the voids possibly deteriorate cell performance due to
Lateral distribution of water content in a proton exchange membrane in an operating fuel cell was measured by using three- dimensional magnetic resonance imaging (3D-MRI), which clearly visualized not also lateral water distribution in the membrane but also condensed water in flow channels in the cell. Both a parallel flow and a serpentine flow were investigated in a variety of current density. In the parallel flow, the membrane near the gas inlet shows lower water content compared to those near
We investigated influences of SO2 concentration and relative humidity in fuel and air streams on anode and cathode poisoning behaviors under open circuit voltage and load operating conditions in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). The rate of cell voltage degradation increased with the increase in SO2 concentration and the normalized cell voltage drop curves were consistent with each other. Cell voltage at equilibrium with SO2 supply was inversely proportional to the concentration
Accelerated degradation tests of a PEMFC due to SO2 poisoning were performed to investigate time-evolutional process of the cell performance. It was revealed that SO2 contamination in the cathode air stream caused either one-stage or two-stage degradation of the PEMFC performance, which depends on cell operating condition. Partial recovery of the cell voltage indicated that weak (reversible) absorption and strong (irreversible) absorption of SO2 are involved in the contamination process by SO2 i
Open papers in the app to read, cite, and organize with AI.
