A method of manufacturing a membrane electrode assembly, includes: forming catalyst coated membrane using an electrode catalyst layer containing an ionomer having a sulfonic acid group and a catalyst carrier, and an electrolyte membrane; applying an ionization accelerator having a low molecular weight component represented by a chemical formula C.sub.lH.sub.mO.sub.n (where l, m, and n are natural numbers) for accelerating generation of sulfate ions, to the catalyst coated membrane; performing UV irradiation on the ionization accelerator applied to the catalyst coated membrane; heating the catalyst coated membrane having the ionization accelerator subjected to the UV irradiation; and bonding a gas diffusion layer containing a radical inhibiting substance to an outer surface of at least one of the ionization accelerator subjected to the UV irradiation or the catalyst coated membrane.

The present disclosure relates to an electrolyte membrane for membrane-electrode assemblies containing a catalyst including a hollow nanoparticle having a polyhedral framework and a method of manufacturing the same. Specifically, the electrolyte membrane includes an electrolyte layer including a proton conductive ionomer and a catalyst dispersed in the electrolyte layer, wherein the catalyst includes a hollow nanoparticle having a polyhedral framework.

Ionomer membranes for fuel cells and related devices are described. An ionomer membrane may be configured with a plurality of anode-side protrusions and/or a plurality of cathode-side protrusions. A filler material(s) may be deposited into voids of an ionomer membrane. Example filler materials include, but are not limited to, platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), gold (Au), silver (Ag), iridium (Ir), etc., and their alloys on carbon supports.

The present invention relates to a catalyst layer for a fuel cell, a method for producing the catalyst layer, and a membrane-electrode assembly and a fuel cell including the catalyst layer. More particularly, the invention relates to a catalyst layer for a fuel cell, the catalyst layer including a catalyst, a heat dissipation material, and an ionomer and having an effect that the heat generated by an exothermic reaction in the catalyst layer can be efficiently discharged to the outside and a phenomenon of deterioration of a membrane-electrode assembly caused by temperature increase in the catalyst layer can be suppressed; a method for producing the catalyst layer; and a membrane-electrode assembly and a fuel cell, both including the catalyst layer.

Microcracked and crack-free catalyst layers such as for electrodes in electrochemical cells (e.g., fuel cells) and method of making the same are disclosed. The microcracks may improve durability by better tolerating stresses without inducing or propagating into macrocracks. The microcracks also improve efficiency by providing reactant (e.g., oxygen) passages to catalyst in the catalyst layer. The microcracks may be formed in a predetermined pattern to further localize additional reactant passages is conventionally starved or more starved locations.

The present specification relates to a method for manufacturing a membrane-electrode assembly, a membrane-electrode assembly manufactured therefrom, and a fuel cell including the same.

Disclosed are a catalyst complex and a method of manufacturing the same. The catalyst complex may be manufactured by uniformly depositing metal catalyst particles on pretreated support particles through an atomic layer deposition process using a fluidized-bed reactor, which may be then uniformly dispersed throughout the ionomer solution. As such, manufacturing costs may be reduced due to the use of a small amount of metal catalyst particles and the durability of an electrolyte membrane and OCV may increase. Further disclosed are a method of manufacturing the catalyst complex, an electrolyte membrane including the catalyst complex, and a method of manufacturing the electrolyte membrane.

A process for preparing a catalyst material, said catalyst material comprising a support material, a first metal and one or more second metals, wherein the first metal and the second metal(s) are alloyed and wherein the first metal is a platinum group metal and the second metal(s) is selected from the group of transition metals and tin provided the second metal(s) is different to the first metal is disclosed. The process comprises depositing a silicon oxide before or after deposition of the second metal(s), alloying the first and second metals and subsequently removing silicon oxide. A catalyst material prepared by this process is also disclosed.

A method for preparing a carbon-supported, platinum-cobalt alloy, nanoparticle catalyst includes mixing a solution containing, in combination, a platinum precursor, a transition metal precursor consisting of a transition metal that is cobalt, carbon, a stabilizer that is oleyl amine, and a reducing agent that is sodium borohydride to provide carbon-supported, platinum-cobalt alloy nanoparticles, and washing the carbon-supported, platinum-cobalt alloy, nanoparticles using ethanol and distilled water individually or in combination followed by drying at room temperature to obtain dried carbon-supported, platinum-cobalt alloy, nanoparticles; treating the dried carbon-supported, platinum-cobalt alloy, nanoparticles with an acetic acid solution having a concentration ranging from 1-16M to provide acetic acid-treated nanoparticles, and washing the acetic acid-treated nanoparticles using distilled water followed by drying at room temperature to obtain dried acetic acid-treated nanoparticles; and heat treating the dried acetic acid-treated nanoparticles at a temperature ranging from 600 to 1000 C. under a hydrogen-containing atmosphere.

A hydrophilic porous carbon electrode which has excellent hydrophilicity, which has high reaction activity when used for a battery, and with which excellent battery characteristics is able to be obtained is provided. A hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is a sheet-form hydrophilic porous carbon electrode in which a carbon fiber is bonded using a resin carbide and has a contact angles .sub.A of water on both surfaces in a thickness direction being 0 to 15 and a contact angle .sub.B of water in a middle portion in the thickness direction being 0 to 15. The hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is obtained by forming the carbon fiber and a binder fiber into a sheet, impregnating the sheet into a thermosetting resin, subjecting it to heat press processing, and then subjecting it to carbonization at 400 to 3000 C. in an inert atmosphere. The hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is transported and is subjected to a heat treatment while an oxidizing gas flows at 400 to 800 C. in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which the hydrophilic porous carbon electrode is transported to be subjected to hydrophilization.