Surface-Directed Fabrication of Integrated Membrane-Electrode Interfaces

Current fabrication approaches for proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells rely on ill-defined, planar interfaces that reduce the performance of the system. The departure from planarity to 3-D interfaces with porosity should provide a boost in power due to additional surface area for catalysis to support higher mass transfer rates. In this project, we are investigating the integration of electrode/catalyst support, gas diffusion pathways, and ionomer into a single network based on a bottom-up, surface-directed approach. Our efforts are focusing on (1) the preparation of surfaceinitiated ionomer that can be grown from electrodes of essentially any geometry and is chemisorbed to the active electrode surface, and (2) the integration of this ionomer with both planar and porous electrodes that are atomically modified by Pt catalysts.