Non-destructive failure analysis of a commercial PEMFC using a micro-XRF with a super large chamber

We introduce non-destructive failure analysis on a large membrane electrode assembly (MEA) from a commercial PEMFC stack using a HORIBA XGT-9000SL, a micro-XRF with an extra-large chamber capacity. Thanks to the chamber capacity, we successfully performed non-destructive elemental imaging on a defective area without cutting the sample, and we found unexpected distributions of Fe, Ni, Mn and Cr within the defective area, and that the elements are present in the MEA as a result of possible degradation of the bipolar plate.