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Freestanding Catalyst Layers: A Novel Electrode Fabrication Technique for PEM Fuel Cells via Electrospinning
Author(s) -
Kayarkatte Manoj Krishna,
Delikaya Öznur,
Roth Christina
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201600530
Subject(s) - electrospinning , materials science , electrode , fabrication , cathode , porosity , proton exchange membrane fuel cell , nanofiber , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , layer (electronics) , catalysis , composite material , fuel cells , polymer , chemistry , medicine , biochemistry , alternative medicine , pathology , engineering
To propel the commercial success of fuel cells, increased Pt catalyst utilization is preeminent. To achieve this, advanced 3D scaffold electrode architecture with controllable porosity, thickness, etc. should be developed. Here, we present a novel technique for the fabrication of electrode structures through electrospinning, which is not only tailorable, but inexpensive and scalable. The structure is freestanding and contains carbon nanotube‐enforced carbon nanofibers, which give the electrode its structure. Pt is decorated on the surface of the fiber structures through impregnation of a Pt precursor and successive reduction. The electrode structure is hot‐pressed by inserting it between a gas diffusion layer (GDL) and a membrane to form the cathode. The novel fabrication technique is versatile and can be used to prepare electrodes of different morphologies. In this work, we demonstrate the technique by preparing a highly porous network, which shows a very high Pt utilization of approximately 90% for a loading of 0.3 mg Pt cm −2 . In comparison, a standard electrode prepared via a hot‐spray technique has a catalyst utilization of 60% for the same loading.