Challenges and perspectives towards multi-physics modeling for porous electrode of ultrahigh performance durable polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Abstract

The development of ultrahigh-performance, durable polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is crucial for achieving large-scale commercialization. A comprehensive insight into multi-physics phenomena within advanced porous electrode designs provide motivation for the ambitious targets. Modeling is an indispensable tool in multi-physics transfer understanding and offers a promising pathway for electrode structural designs and material architecture selections. Despite the progress, the modeling community continues to face significant challenges, including oversimplification, difficulties in coupling complex features, unclear physical knowledge, and unavoidable discrepancies. This perspective highlights the current status of porous electrode modeling, identifies ongoing challenges, and explores future directions for key technologies and potential countermeasures. Specifically, the characteristics and limitations of macro-scale, meso-scale, and micro-scale models regarding intricate porous electrode microstructures are compared, including ordered structure, mesoporous carbon support, various catalyst architectures, etc. Potential solutions to these challenges are proposed for the next generation of porous electrode designs. Furthermore, three alternatives to advancing cross-scale, full-morphology, and full-coupling modeling are developed and discussed, including layer-by-layer physical property transfer, interfacial data transfer and direct numerical simulation, and data-driven assisted cross-scale modeling, which are expected to be evaluated and validated in the foreseeable future.