Preparation and characterization of proton conducting phosphosilicate glass membranes with different catalyst layers for low-temperature H2/O2 fuel cells

In this paper, we report on the proton conducting phosphosilicate glass membranes using TiO2, Pt, and Nafion® as intermediate layers, respectively, for their applicability as low-temperature fuel cells electrolytes. Measurements concerning Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS), as well as electrochemical analysis were carried out. The specific surface area and pore size distributions were described by the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method and the average pore size found to be approximately in the range of 2.8–6.3 nm for all the studied membranes. The electric current–voltage characteristics of the fabricated MEA were studied under humidified atmosphere. When electrode width is 4 or 9 mm, the obtained maximum current and power density values are 147.1 mA cm2 and 73.8 mW cm2; and 68.2 mA cm2 and 27.2 mW cm2, respectively. It is thought that the catalyst reaction efficiency in three-phase boundary improved and higher output power can be obtained with the electrodes used. In addition with high output values, internal resistance is also decreased due to small width of electrode. Thus the studied membranes are suitable candidates for low-temperature H2/O2 fuel cells electrolytes.

Research highlights▶ In this paper, we report on the proton conducting phosphosilicate glass membranes using TiO2, Pt, and Nafion® as intermediate layers, respectively, for their applicability as low temperature fuel cells electrolytes. ▶ When electrode width is 4 or 9 mm, the obtained maximum current and power density values are 147.1 mA cm2 and 73.8 mW cm2; and 68.2 mA cm2 and 27.2 mW cm2, respectively. ▶ The power output of the fabricated MEA 73.8 mW cm−2 is a high value. The three phase boundary is high in the anode and cathode, along with that the catalyst efficiency improvement.