As the United States energy infrastructure moves towards the integration of hydrogen energy, the reliable production of hydrogen through water electrolyzers is imperative. In proton exchange membrane water electrolyzes (PEMWE’s), the porous transport layer (PTL) plays an important role. When choosing PTL material, one should consider corrosion resistance, electrical conductivity, and ability to support the structure of the electrochemical cell. Due to these requirements, titanium is the current state-of-the-art anode PTL material. However, titanium quickly forms a layer of titanium oxide which significantly decreases conductivity of the PTL and respectively decreases the overall efficiency of the PEMWE system. Coatings are commonly applied to the PTL to combat this complication, but the use of noble metals leads to cost concerns. Additionally, the degradation of coated PTLs is not yet well known.

Advanced physicochemical characterization of PTLs at various stages of fabrication and testing is vital to understand their properties and the impact on electrochemical performance in order to improve durability and meet cost targets. Focused Ion Beam Scanning Electron Microscopy (FIB-SEM) is currently used to cross section areas of the PTL for subsequent analysis with Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy Energy-dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (STEM-EDS) analysis to visualize the elemental information of the PTL materials and PTL coatings, specifically looking at detrimental oxide layer formation. Unfortunately, this approach is time-consuming and difficult, motivating the development of alternative approaches that allow the characterization of wide sample sets more efficiently. Additionally, STEM-EDS analysis only provides elemental information, so if several oxide layers preside, it can be difficult to differentiate them. Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) depth profiling is a very powerful technique that has been commonly used to characterize thin films and buried interfaces. Unlike the FIB-SEM and STEM-EDS combination, ToF-SIMS can be performed relatively quickly in several areas of the PTL, provides chemical information, and is sensitive to trace elements. An added advantage of ToF-SIMS is ability to do 2D and 3D chemical analysis on different scales. This enables visualization of elemental and chemical distribution on both larger scale (70x70 um) areas, and smaller areas (20x10 um) which provides more detailed surface and interface information. This allows for detailed tracking of all major constituents of the PTL and coating. It also allows to follow changes in oxide layers upon fabrication and after electrochemical testing, as well as track homogeneity of the surface and oxide layer interfaces throughout different parts of the PTL. This presentation will demonstrate capabilities of this technique for characterization of PTLs, along with progress and potential challenges. ToF-SIMs results will be compared to TEM analysis of cross-sections obtained with FIB-SEM. This study will highlight similarities and differences between the techniques, technique optimization for these morphologically challenging samples, and paths for future investigation moving forward.