For a future hydrogen economy, the development of cost effective energy conversion devices is a key issue. In this perspective, we discuss the use of high energy x-rays for obtaining comprehensive insights into the complex processes which occur inside such devices, focusing on proton exchange membrane fuel cells. This probe enables structural characterisation under operating conditions on all relevant length scales, from the atomic-scale interfaces to complete stacks. This opens up possibilities to go beyond characterisation of the isolated components, towards an understanding of their interactions in the full system which determine the power output, efficiency and degradation pathways in operational devices.

对于未来的氢经济，开发具有成本效益的能量转换装置是一个关键问题。从这个角度来看，我们讨论了使用高能 X 射线来全面了解此类设备内部发生的复杂过程，重点是质子交换膜燃料电池。该探针能够在所有相关长度尺度的操作条件下进行结构表征，从原子尺度界面到完整的堆栈。这开辟了超越隔离组件特性的可能性，了解它们在整个系统中的相互作用，这些相互作用决定了操作设备中的功率输出、效率和退化路径。