Performance enhancement of air-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cell through utilization of an effective self-humidifying platinum–carbon catalyst

One issue with air-breathing proton exchange membrane fuel cells (AB-PEMFCs) is that the reactants are not externally humidified, and thus the membrane or the catalyst layers might dry out due to electro-osmotic drag, diffusion and evaporation at the opening cathode. This results in a drop in internal ionic conductivity and thus in cell performance. Here, the preparation and characterization of self-humidifying carbon-supported Pt catalyst using citric acid modified carbon black (CA-CB) as the catalyst support are reported. Pt/CA-CB is highly hydrophilic due to the functional groups attached on the carbon support, which endows the ability to retain water in the membrane electrolyte assembly (MEA) and thereby help to improve the performance of AB-PEMFCs. A maximum power density of 204 mW cm−2 can be achieved in an air-breathing PEMFC stack using Pt/CA-CB, a thick polymer membrane (NRE212) and a circular opening cathode. A 23.4% enhancement in the output power density is obtained by using Pt/CA-CB in place of a commercial catalyst when oblique slit cathodes are employed. This self-humidifying catalyst is particularly suitable for portable PEMFC applications.