Fiber-optic sensor for detection of hydrogen peroxide in PEM fuel cells

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dc.contributor.authorBotero-Cadavid, Juan F.
dc.contributor.supervisorDjilali, Nedjid
dc.contributor.supervisorWild, Peter Martin
dc.date.accessioned2014-04-23T20:39:41Z
dc.date.available2014-04-23T20:39:41Z
dc.date.copyright2014en_US
dc.date.issued2014-04-23
dc.degree.departmentDepartment of Mechanical Engineeringen_US
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy Ph.D.en_US
dc.description.abstractThis dissertation presents chemical sensors that are based on an emerging optical fiber sensing technology for the determination of the presence and concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) at low concentrations. The motivation to determine hydrogen peroxide lies on the fact that this chemical species is generated as a by-product of the operation of hydrogen-based polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), and the presence and formation of this peroxide has been associated with the chemical degradation that results in low durability of PEMFCs. Currently, there are no techniques that allow the hydrogen peroxide to be determined in situ in PEMFCs in a reliable manner, since the only report of this type of measurement was performed using electrochemical techniques, which can be affected by the environmental conditions and that can alter the proper operation of the PEMFCs. The sensors presented in this dissertation are designed to detect the presence and quantify hydrogen peroxide in solution at the conditions at which PEMFCs operate. Since they are made using fused silica optical fibers and are based on a spectroscopic technique to perform the detection of H2O2 , they are not affected by the electromagnetic fields or the harsh chemical environment inside PEMFCs. In addition, they are able to still detect the presence of H2O2 at the operating temperatures. The construction of the sensing film on the tip of an optical fiber and its small size (125 µm diameter), make the sensors here developed an ideal solution for being deployed in situ in PEMFCs, ensuring that they would be minimally invasive and that the operation of the fuel cell would not be compromised by the presence of the sensor. The sensors developed in this dissertation not only present design characteristics that are applicable to PEMFCs, they are also suitable for applications in other fields such as environmental, defense, and biological processes.en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0548en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0756en_US
dc.description.proquestcode0791en_US
dc.description.proquestemailjfbotero@gmail.comen_US
dc.description.scholarlevelGraduateen_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/5271
dc.languageEnglisheng
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.rights.tempAvailable to the World Wide Weben_US
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ca/*
dc.subjectFuel cellsen_US
dc.subjectOptical fiber sensoren_US
dc.subjectHydrogen peroxideen_US
dc.subjectPEMFCen_US
dc.subjectDegradation fuel cellsen_US
dc.subjectPrussian blueen_US
dc.subjectOptrodeen_US
dc.subjectElectrostatic self-assembly of polyelectrolytesen_US
dc.subjectMembrane degradationen_US
dc.subjectTemperatureen_US
dc.titleFiber-optic sensor for detection of hydrogen peroxide in PEM fuel cellsen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US

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