Wettability and wettability modification methods of porous transport layer in polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC): A review

As a key component of polymer electrolyte membrane electrolysis cells (PEMEC), the wettability of anode porous transport layer (APTL) plays an important role on the transport of gas and liquid water in the anode. This paper reviews the research progress on the materials, structural parameters and wettability of APTL, and discusses qualitatively the effect of wettability on the detachment characteristics of oxygen bubbles which are on the surface or in the internal pore channels of APTL by establishing force models of an oxygen bubble. For the surface wettability modification of titanium (Ti) fiber-based APTL, the feasibility of four surface chemical modification methods, namely silane coupling agent modification, dopamine (DA) modification, grafting modification based on Ultraviolet (UV) irradiation or supercritical fluid technology are analyzed, which makes up for the blank of review articles in this field. Finally, the above-mentioned chemical modification methods are possible research opportunities for the wettability transformation of APTL.