A gas diffusion layer includes: a conductive particle; and a fluororesin, and the fluororesin includes a first fiber having a first average fiber diameter and a second fiber having a second average fiber diameter different from the first average fiber diameter.

An electrochemical oxygen reduction catalyst comprising platinum-containing nanoparticles and at least one member selected from the group consisting of a melamine compound, a thiocyanuric acid compound, and a polymer containing the melamine compound or the thiocyanuric acid compound as a monomer is an electrochemical oxygen reduction catalyst having a high oxygen reduction activity (small overvoltage).

Disclosed are a catalyst, a method for producing the catalyst, an electrode comprising the catalyst, a membrane-electrode assembly comprising the electrode, and a fuel cell comprising the membrane-electrode assembly, the catalyst having superb catalytic activity that can be obtained by means of a simple post-treatment process of the raw catalyst. The catalyst according to the present invention comprises a support, and metal particles supported therein, wherein the metal particles comprise main particles and an additional metal layer thereon, and the main particles and additional metal layer comprise the same metal elements. The metal particles have a budding structure or a rod structure by having just a particular latticed active surface of the main particles grow to form the additional metal layer, or a core-shell structure by having the entire latticed active surface of the main particles grow to form the additional metal layer.

A method of producing electrical power includes: a cathode having a porphyrin precursor attached to a substrate, and having a first enzyme, wherein the first enzyme reduces oxygen; an anode having a first region of an anode substrate and having a gold nanoparticle composition located thereon, and having a second region of the anode substrate having an enzyme composition located thereon, wherein the enzyme composition includes a second enzyme, wherein the first region and second region are separate regions; and a neutral fuel liquid in contact with the anode and cathode, the neutral fuel liquid having a neutral pH and a fuel reagent; and operating the fuel cell to produce electrical power with the neutral fuel liquid having the neutral pH and the fuel reagent.

A catalyst for a fuel cell includes: a crystalline carbon support having a specific surface area of about 200 m.sup.2/g to about 500 m.sup.2/g; and intermetallic active particles of a transition metal and a noble metal, wherein the intermetallic active particles are supported on the crystalline carbon support and have a particle diameter of greater than or equal to about 3 nm.

Ways of making electrodes and electrodes produced thereby are provided. Dry blending of a powder mixture including a catalyst, an ionomer, and a polyether forms a blended mixture, which can be comminuted to obtain a desired particle size. A slurry of the blended mixture is formed with an aqueous medium and the slurry is coated onto a substrate to form a coated substrate. The coating can be transferred to another substrate or material for use as an electrode and/or the substrate of the coated substrate can form part of a structure, such as a membrane electrode assembly for use in a fuel cell.

Methods of making catalyst-coated membranes are provided. Application of a first catalyst ink to first side of a proton-exchange membrane forms a first electrode coating thereon. Removal of a backing from the proton-exchange membrane exposes a second side of the proton-exchange membrane permitting application of a second catalyst ink to the exposed second side of the proton-exchange membrane to form a second electrode coating thereon. The cathode catalyst ink includes a cathode catalyst, a cathode ionomer, and a cathode solvent. The anode catalyst ink includes anode particles dispersed in an inert, fluorinated, and nonpolar solvent. The anode particles include an anode catalyst, a water electrolysis catalyst, and an anode ionomer.

The invention relates to solid oxide fuel cell anodes, in particular anodes which containing porous particles coated with catalytic nickel. The use of porous particles as a carrier for the nickel catalyst helps to overcome some of the redox stability issues experienced by some systems and improves the internal reforming properties of the system and permits less nickel to be used in SOFC systems.

A membrane electrode assembly comprises a polymer electrolyte interposed between an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, the anode electrode comprising an anode catalyst layer adjacent at least a portion of a first major surface of the polymer electrolyte, the cathode electrode comprising a cathode catalyst layer adjacent at least a portion of a second major surface of the polymer electrolyte; at least one of the anode and cathode catalyst layers comprising: a first catalyst composition comprising a noble metal; and a second composition comprising a metal oxide; wherein the second composition has been treated with a fluoro-phosphonic acid compound.

A method for the production of an electrode for a fuel cell is provided that comprises providing a multitude of catalyst particles carried on at least one electrically conductive particle carrier, and depositing one or more atomic or molecular layers of an ionomer from the gas phase on the catalyst particles and/or the at least one particle carrier, thereby forming a proton-conducting ionomer coating. Furthermore, an electrode for a fuel cell is also provided.