(Invited) Research Progress of Electrocatalyst and MEA of PEM Fuel Cell and Water Electrolyser

The successful commercialization of PEM fuel cell and water electrolyser is determined by the performance, durability, and cost of electrocatalyst and MEA. Compared with conventional electrodes, nanoarray electrodes feature enhanced mass transport thanks to continuous proton and electron transport channels. Herein, a series of nanoarray electrodes were developed directly as the electrodes for PEM fuel cells and water electrolysers. A catalyst layer based on porous Pt−Ni nanobelt arrays were prepared by the magnetron sputtering of Pt and Ni on a sacrificed template, followed by acid etching. The porous Pt−Ni nanobelt arrays-based catalyst layer exhibited superior fuel cell performance in H₂/air conditions and RH 40%. The performance of the MEA with porous Pt−Ni nanobelt arrays reached 366.6 and 597.6 mW cm⁻² with Pt loadings of 36.5 μg cm⁻²/36.5 μg cm⁻² and 108.9 μg cm⁻²/108.9 μg cm⁻² at the cathode/anode, respectively. Besides, a WO₃ nanoarray electrode with a heterogeneous IrRu coating was prepared via a facile electrodeposition approach. The obtained IrRu@WO₃ electrode exhibits a competitive overpotential of 245 mV at 10 mA cm⁻². A single cell enables a current density of 4.5 A cm⁻² at 2.13 V with the Ir loading of 115 mg cm⁻². The nanoarray structure remains unchanged in a single-cell during a 500-h stability test. In sum, these work highlights a new approach to enhance the performance and durability for PEM fuel cells and water electrolysers.