Poroelastic PEM fuel cell catalyst layer and its implication in predicting the effect of mechanical load on flow and transport properties

► Extraction of mechanical properties of the two commonly used CLs of PEFC. ► Application of scaling laws to investigate the intrinsic properties of the CL. ► Development of coupled pore-fluid diffusion-mechanical stress model. ► Coupling the mechanical stress results to the transport properties. ► Highlighting the limitations of Bruggerman's correlations.