Enhancement of oxygen reduction and mitigation of ionomer dry-out using insoluble heteropoly acids in intermediate temperature polymer-electrolyte membrane fuel cells

The use of Cs<inf>0.5</inf>H<inf>0.5</inf>PW<inf>12</inf>O<inf>40</inf> insoluble salt as a superacid promoter in the catalyst layer of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) has been investigated. An increase of performance has been recorded at intermediate temperatures (110-130 °C) and under low relative humidity (R.H.). The promoter appears to mitigate the ionomer dry-out effects in the catalytic layer and produces an increase of the extent of the catalyst-electrolyte interface as demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry analysis. These effects are also corroborated by a significant decrease of polarization resistance at intermediate temperatures. Such characteristics have been demonstrated for a conventional membrane-electrode assembly based on a Pt-Co alloy and a Nafion 115 membrane.