Self-assembled membrane-electrode-assembly of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

A novel structured membrane-electrode-assembly (MEA) of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFC) has been successfully fabricated by the electrostatic self-assembly between the positively charged Pt-poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (Pt-PDDA) nanoparticles and the sulfonic acid group, SO3-, at the Nafion membrane surface. The Pt loading of the self-assembled MEA was 2.8 μg cm−2 and the power density achieved was 2.3 mW cm−2 under H2/O2 at room temperature. This corresponds to a power output of 821 W per 1 g of Pt. The results indicate that the charged Pt-PDDA nanoparticles most likely formed a monolayer on the Nafion surface and such self-assembly monolayer structure could be very useful in the development of PEFC with controlled interface.