Nanopillar structured Platinum with enhanced catalytic utilization for electrochemical reactions in PEMFC

Platinum (Pt) nanopillars are grown on porous carbon paper at high pressure using plasma dc magnetron sputtering technique to prepare electrodes for application in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC). The prepared electrodes have low loading of 0.05 mg cm−2 at anode and loadings in the range of 0.05 - 0.20 mg cm−2 at the cathode. Nanopillars grown on carbon paper take active part in electrochemical reactions in fuel cells leading to enhanced performance with a total Platinum (Pt) loading as low as 0.15 mg cm−2. The Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA) with Pt loading of 0.05 mg cm−2 and 0.1 mg cm−2 at anode and cathode respectively shows the best performance with a current density of 0.82 A cm−2 at 0.6 V and maximum power density of 0.67 W cm−2, which is comparable to commercial standard electrodes with total Pt loading of 2 mg cm−2.