Synthesis and characterization of new Pt nanocatalysts based on the cesium salt of 12-tungstophosphoric acid as an additive for preparation of self-humidifying nanocomposite membranes in PEM fuel cells

In the present study, the Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40 supported Pt catalysts (Pt-Cs2.5H0.5PW12O40) have been synthesized and investigated for preparation of self-humidifying nanocomposite membranes based on sPEEK in PEM fuel cells. The FTIR, XRD and TEM analysis were conducted to characterizethe catalyst and membrane structure. The water uptake and proton conductivity measurements indicated that the sPEEK/Pt-Cs2.5 self-humidifying nanocomposite membranes have higher water absorption and proton-conductive properties compared to the plain sPEEK membrane due to thehighly hygroscopic and acidy properties of Pt-Cs2.5 catalyst. The single cells employing the sPEEK/Pt-Cs2.5 self-humidifying nanocomposite membranes exhibited higher cell OCV values and cell performances than those of plain sPEEK membrane under dry or wet conditions. Thisself-humidifying nanocomposite membranes have a higher single cell performance than the Nafion-117 which is frequently used as a proton exchange membrane in fuel cell applications.

Keywords:

Proton exchange membrane , sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone) (sPEEK) , nanocatalysts , self-humidifying , PEM fuel cells