Morphological control of PEMFC electrode by graft polymerization of polymer electrolyte onto platinum-supported carbon black

An increase in platinum catalyst utilization in polymer electrolyte fuel cells is necessary to improve performance and reduce costs. In the present study, a novel electrode preparation method was developed, based on the process of graft polymerization of electrolyte polymer onto a carbon black support. In this method, the electrolyte polymer is graft polymerized from monomer solution, which is able to penetrate into the small pores in the agglomerate of the carbon supports. This ensures that most of the platinum particles loaded can be accessed with electrolyte polymer and results in an increased platinum–electrolyte–polymer interface in the agglomerate. Although the improvement of polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) performance was not large, the analysis by the Tafel plot verified that the electrochemically active area for the oxygen reduction reaction increased significantly, compared with the conventional process.