A method of operating a fuel cell having an anode, a cathode and a polymer electrolyte membrane disposed between the anode and the cathode, includes feeding the anode with an impure hydrogen stream having low levels of carbon monoxide up to 5 ppm, and wherein the anode includes an anode catalyst layer including a carbon monoxide tolerant catalyst material, wherein the catalyst material includes: (i) a binary alloy of PtX, wherein X is a metal selected from the group consisting of rhodium and osmium, and wherein the atomic percentage of platinum in the alloy is from 45 to 80 atomic % and the atomic percentage of X in the alloy is from 20 to 55 atomic %; and (ii) a support material on which the PtX alloy is dispersed; wherein the total loading of platinum group metals (PGM) in the anode catalyst layer is from 0.01 to 0.2 mgPGM/cm.sup.2.

The invention relates to a system and method of operating alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells in a bipolar configuration. The system (400) may include a first fuel cell (300A) and a second fuel cell (300B) adjacent to the first fuel cell. Each of the first and second fuel cells may include: a cathode configured to generate hydroxide ions from water, oxygen and electrons, an anode configured to generate water and electrons from the hydroxide ions and hydrogen received from a hydrogen source, and an alkaline exchange membrane configured to transfer the hydroxide ions from the cathode to the anode, and to transfer water from a vicinity of the anode to a vicinity of the cathode. The first fuel cell (300A) and a second fuel cell (300B) are connected by a porous bipolar plate (430A) positioned inbetween. A pressure profile across the first bi-polar plate may drop from higher level near the anode of the first fuel cell (300A) to lower level near the cathode of the second fuel cell (300B) so that water may be transferred from the anode of the first fuel cell (300A) to the cathode of the second fuel cell (300B).

The invention provides noble metal-free electro-catalyst compositions for use in acidic media, e.g., acidic electrolyte. The noble metal-free electro-catalyst compositions include non-noble metal absent of noble metal. The non-noble metal is non-noble metal oxide, and typically in the form of any configuration of a solid or hollow nano-material, e.g., nano-particles, a nanocrystalline thin film, nanorods, nanoshells, nanoflakes, nanotubes, nanoplates, nanospheres and nanowhiskers or combinations of myriad nanoscale architecture embodiments. Optionally, the noble metal-free electro-catalyst compositions include dopant, such as, but not limited to halogen. Acidic media includes oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells, and direct methanol fuel cells and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in PEM-based water electrolysis and metal air batteries, and hydrogen generation from solar energy and electricity-driven water splitting.

The preset disclosure provides a catalyst layer that has a small contact resistance with a gas diffusion layer and excellent gas diffusion properties. The catalyst layer for a fuel cell has a uniform thickness and includes fibrous conductive members and catalyst particles. The fibrous conductive members are inclined relative to a surface direction of the catalyst layer, and a lengthwise direction of the fibrous conductive members, on average, matches a first direction.

The disclosure includes a platinum-based alloy catalyst and a preparation method thereof, a membrane electrode and a fuel cell. The method for preparing the platinum-based alloy catalyst comprises the following steps: (1) preparing nano-sized alloy particles of platinum and 3d transition metal; (2) carrying out acid treatment on the alloy particles prepared in step (1); and (3) annealing the alloy particles treated in step (2). The size of the platinum-based alloy particles is controlled, an atom number ratio of platinum to transition metal in the platinum-based alloy is controlled, and then etching and dissolution of acid is combined so that an atom number ratio of platinum to transition metal is further controlled, subsequently annealing is carried out at high temperature. The prepared platinum-based alloy catalyst improves the stability and durability of the platinum-based alloy catalyst, which supports the large-scale application of the platinum-based alloy catalyst in the fuel cell.

Described herein is a composition for manufacturing an electrode of a membrane-electrode assembly for fuel cells and a method for manufacturing an electrode of a membrane-electrode assembly for fuel cells including the same. More particularly, described herein is a composition for manufacturing an electrode of a membrane-electrode assembly for fuel cells which can improve porosity in the electrode and thereby mass transport capability of reactive gases by mixing a second carbon having lower crystallinity than a first carbon to produce an electrode and applying a voltage to the electrode to remove only the second carbon, and a method for manufacturing an electrode of a membrane-electrode assembly for fuel cells including the same.

Disclosed are a polymer electrolyte membrane for fuel cells which has improved handling properties and mechanical strength by employing symmetric-type laminated composite films and a method for manufacturing the same.

Systems, methods, fuel cells, and mixtures to inhibit ionomer permeation into porous substrates using a crosslinked ionomer are described. A method includes preparing an ionomer premix, mixing a crosslinking additive with the ionomer premix to thereby form a crosslinked-ionomer solution, and adding catalyst particles to the crosslinked-ionomer solution to produce a catalyst ink. The ionomer premix includes an ionomer dispersed within a solvent. The catalyst ink includes the catalyst particles distributed homogenously therethrough. The catalyst ink may be cast onto a porous substrate and dried to thereby form a catalyst layer for use in a fuel cell.

A membrane electrode assembly is provided that includes a nanostructured thin film catalyst as the anode electrode catalyst, the membrane electrode assembly having robustness to humidity variation. Additionally, a solid polymer fuel cell including this membrane electrode assembly is provided. A membrane electrode assembly of an embodiment of the present disclosure includes an electrolyte membrane; an anode electrode catalyst layer in contact with the electrolyte membrane; an anode gas diffusion layer; and a fluorinated polymer layer in contact with the anode electrode catalyst layer between the anode electrode catalyst layer and the anode gas diffusion layer. The anode electrode catalyst layer includes a plurality of nanostructure elements including acicular microstructured support whiskers supporting nanoscopic catalyst particles; and the fluorinated polymer layer includes one of fully-fluorinated or partially-fluorinated polymer particles that have been dispersed in a network form.

The present disclosure provides a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) with high-efficiency water and heat management for a direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC), and a fabrication method therefor, and belongs to the technical field of fuel cells. In the MEA for a DEFC in the present disclosure, a cathode catalyst layer is designed to be convex and ordered and an anode catalyst layer is designed to be concave and ordered, which is conducive to the timely discharge of the generated heat. The MEA for a DEFC can be fabricated by gradually fabricating each layer of the MEA on an inner surface and an outer surface of a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) or by step-by-step dip coating on an anode support tube. The present disclosure can effectively improve the working capacity of the cell.