Rugged catalyst layer supported on a Nafion fiber mat for enhancing mass transport of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Abstract

In this study, a new rugged catalyst layer (CL) structure is derived from a Nafion fiber mat to enhance the mass transport properties of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Nafion fiber mat is fabricated on a membrane surface by electrospinning technique and then a catalyst ink is sprayed on the fiber-coated membranes. With the Nafion fiber mat with 3.0 μm fiber diameter, a rugged CL supported on the fiber mat is formed, dictating the structural feature of the Nafion fiber mat. The resulting CL, which features an expanded outer CL surface, exhibits 21% improved power performance at 0.4 V under high humidity operation due to the increase of gas and water transport properties. These results demonstrate that Nafion fiber mat can be as an effective and scalable scaffold for the development of advanced CL.