(20a) Effect of Deviation from Ideality of Different Pore Geometries for Zero Order Electrochemical Reactions

The study of realistic catalytic pore domains in electrochemical systems is vital in determining the region of parameters that are acceptable for describing, accurately, chemical processes taking place within modelling domains. Models are useful in predictions of system behaviors and assessing experimental results relevant to electrochemical applications such as batteries, fuel cells. A “deviation” from ideal geometry of porous domains for both rectangular and cylindrical domains are analyzed and compared with their ideal geometries. These systems are studied by employing the microscopic scale species mass balancing conservation equation with diffusion and zero order electrochemical reaction present. The equation is scaled up to macroscopic level by employing area averaging-based approach to obtain a system level information. The results obtained from the macroscopic level identified potential deviations in the concentration profile. This study shows the impact of irregular geometry (which is more realistic in analyzing porous systems) on using the often assumed ideal geometry and quantifies useful guidelines for modelling these complex systems.