Improving the utilization of platinum in proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells is critical to reducing their cost. In the past decade, numerous Pt-based oxygen reduction reaction catalysts with high specific and mass activities have been developed. However, the high activities are mostly achieved in rotating disk electrode (RDE) measurement and have rarely been accomplished at the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) level. The failure of these direct translations from RDE to MEA has been well documented with several key reasons having been previously identified. One of them is the resistance caused by complex mass transport pathways in the MEA. Herein, we improve the proton and oxygen transportations in the MEA by building a thin and uniform distribution of ionomer on the catalyst surface. As a result, a PEM fuel cell design is capable of showing a current density improvement of 38% at the same voltage (0.6 V) under the H2/air operation.
Keywords: CO adsorption; Pt utilization; ionomer distribution; mass transport resistance; micromodification.