Lowering the platinum loading of high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells with acid doped polybenzimidazole membranes

Membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) with ultra-low Pt loading electrodes were prepared for high temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) based on acid doped polybenzimidazole. With no electrode binders or ionomers, the triple phase boundary of the catalyst layer was established by the acid transfer from the acid doped membrane to the electrodes and can therefore be tailored by using catalysts with varied Pt to C ratios.

With a loading of ca. 0.1 mgPtcm-2 on each electrode the best performance was obtained with electrodes prepared from 10 wt.% Pt/C due to the improved Pt dispersion, extended triple phase boundary upon the acid transfer and the alleviated acid flooding of the catalytic layer. The MEA delivered a peak power density of 482 mW cm-2 for H2/O2 and 321 mW cm-2 for H2/air, corresponding to an overall Pt utilization of 2.5 and 1.7 kW gPt-1, respectively.

The durability test revealed no net voltage decay during more than 1700 h of uninterrupted operation at 200 mA cm-2 and 160 °C.