A Method for Making Ultralow Platinum Loading and High Durability Membrane Electrode Assembly for PEMFCS

FSU researchers have created a method of making membrane electrode assembly (MEA) which has following characteristics:

(1) the unique microstructure and well-connected nanotubes network ensures a high electron conductivity

(2) the platinum group metal (PGM) nanoparticles are de posited electrochemically in a liquid solution on the outermost surface area of an established porous CNT/CNF buckypaper network such that the locations of these nanoparticles are accessible by both electrons and gas

(3) the surfaces of deposited PGM nanoparticles and buckypaper network are coated in a layer of Nafion electrolyte using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) in a Nafion monomer solution and combined with  the liquid dropping method, in order for the PGM nanoparticles to be accessible by protons.

This method provides a novel approach to fabrication of the “ideal” membrane electrode assembly (MEA) in which most of the platinum group metal (PGM) catalytic particles are located at sites that satisfy the triple-phrase boundary (THB) condition and maximize the PGM usage.