Fuel cell (FC) systems have drawn significant attention, because they meet all requirements for future sustainable energy generation such as high electrical efficiency, low emission, good partial-loading characteristics and fuel supply flexibility. One design of FCs is PEMFCs, which consist of a solid Nafion membrane as the electrolyte, utilizing H2 or bio-fuel as a fuel supply; and noble metal as the catalyst. PEMFCs provide direct electricity for stationary and portable applications with high energy conversion efficiency, low pollutant emissions, simple design and operation, and flexible fuel supply. However, current PEMFC designs encounter problems in materials compatibility, manufacturing cost, and performance degradation. Numerous attempts have been made to improve the performance and durability of PEMFCs. This study developed functionalized catalyst composed of carbon nanotubes (CNT) arrays, which were decorated with platinum (Pt) as cathode catalyst. The novelty of this approach lies in amphiphilic post-functionalization. It was found that PEMFCs displayed power density (900 mW/cm2) under lowered Pt loading (&lt; 0.2 mg/cm2). This performance gain is attributed to greater accessibility to electrochemical active-sites, allowing generation of energy and reduced environmental burden. Additionally, the hydrophobicity of the catalysts also provides a new tool to prevent cathode flooding, resulting in long-term device stability.

Amphiphilic functionalization of cathode catalyst to advance electrochemical reactivity of fuel cells

249th National Meeting (2015)

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