Dr. Olivia Barron

Dr. Olivia Barron completed her PhD at the HySA Systems Competence Centre at the University of the Western Cape in December 2014. She has a background in membrane electrode assembly (MEA) preparation for low temperature Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs) which was attained during her Honours and Masters’ degree research activities. Upon completion of her MSc degree, Olivia continued to show interest in MEAs for fuel cells but her focus shifted to MEA preparation for high temperature PEMFCs for her PhD research. During her PhD research, Olivia worked on improving the performance and stability of high temperature MEAs by modification of the gas diffusion electrode (GDE).

Upon completion of her PhD, Olivia remained at HySA Systems Competence Centre as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow to expand and continue her research. Although Dr. Olivia’s current work focuses on developing Pd membranes for gas separation for the production of pure hydrogen, she continues to be involved in MEA preparation for high temperature PEMFCs with special focus on improving the durability of high temperature MEAs.

Conferences & Events Attended:

1.    South Africa Climate Change Response (CCR) Expo, Durban, 2011
2.    13th Topical Meeting of the International Society of Electrochemistry, 7-10th April 2013, Pretoria, South Africa.
3.    Hydrogen and Fuel Cells conference, 12-15th July 2013, Napa valley, USA.
4.    Carisma 2014, 1-3 December 2014, Cape Town, South Africa.

Publications:

•    Olivia Barron, Huaneng Su, Vladimir Linkov, Bruno G. Pollet, Sivakumar Pasupathi, CsHSO4 as proton conductor for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells, Journal of Applied Electrochemistry 44 (2014) 1037-1045.
•    Olivia Barron, Huaneng Su, Vladimir Linkov, Bruno G. Pollet, Sivakumar Pasupathi, Enhanced performance and stability of high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell by incorporating zirconium hydrogen phosphate in catalyst layer, Journal of Power Sources 278 (2015) 718-724.