The Effects of Cathode Parameters on the Performance of Poly(2,5-Benzimidazole)-Based Polymer ElectrolyteMembrane Fuel Cell

The effects of electrode parameters on membrane<br>electrode assembly performance including Pt loading, hydrophobicity<br>during heat treatment, catalyst layer thickness and<br>the amount of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) in the cathode<br>are investigated. The fuel cell performance is maximized via<br>catalyst utilization by optimizing the phosphoric acid content<br>in the electrodes. Heat treatment of gas diffusion electrode<br>results in an increase in hydrophobicity and a decrease in<br>phosphoric acid content in the catalyst layer, which drastically<br>affects the fuel cell performance. In our conditions, a maximum<br>fuel cell performance of 270 mW cm−2 was achieved at<br>160 °C with air using 1 mg Pt cm−2 total catalyst loading<br>(20 % PTFE). The fuel cell performance and the poisoning<br>effect of carbon monoxide in poly(2,5-benzimidazole)<br>(ABPBI)-membrane-based high-temperature membrane electrode<br>assemblies were investigated with respect to carbon<br>monoxide concentrations. Fuel cell performance of Pt alloys<br>(Pt-Cu/C, Pt-Fe/C, Pt-Ni/C) is compared with that of Pt/C at<br>temperatures between 140 and 180 °C. It was observed that<br>Pt-Cu/C alloy catalysts exhibit higher performance with lower<br>catalyst loadings (0.4 mg Pt cm−2) than Pt/C catalyst. The<br>performance of alloy catalysts follows the order of Pt-Cu/C&gt;<br>Pt-Fe/C&gt;Pt-Ni/C&gt;Pt/C.