Semi-ordered Catalyst Layer with Ultra-Low Pt Loading for Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells
Reducing platinum loading while maintaining superior electrochemical performance is critical to the large-scale commercialization of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs).
Recently, the research group led by Researcher Yujing Li from Beijing Institute of Technology published an online study in Journal of Power Sources (IF = 8.1). The work proposes a novel semi-ordered catalyst layer structure that effectively reduces mass transport resistance and simultaneously accelerates proton (H) conduction.
An ordered microarray (OMA) with inherent internal voids establishes vertical transport channels within the catalyst layer, optimizing the transfer pathways for both protons and oxygen. At an ultra-low Pt loading of 0.05–0.1 mg cm, the optimized membrane electrode assembly (MEA) achieves a 24% performance improvement with significantly mitigated oxygen transport resistance.
Multi-physics simulation further verifies that the vertically aligned pores in the semi-ordered catalyst layer dominate the enhanced mass-transport behavior. This structural design enables further Pt loading reduction while retaining excellent fuel cell output performance, providing a feasible strategy for high-efficiency and low-cost PEMFC fabrication.
