A method for preparing a support for an electrode catalyst including forming first and second polymer layers having charges different from each other on a surface of a carbon support and carbonizing the result, wherein the polymers included in the first and the second polymer layers are an aromatic compound including a heteroatom, and the first or the second polymer includes a pyridine group.

The art for the design of a class of modified catalysts, the process for preparing such modified catalysts and implementation of such modified catalysts in phosphoric acid fuel cells is disclosed. The modified catalyst comprises a particle of a metal-doped porous material and an amount of a phosphate-containing acid group or phosphate-containing acid groups. The particle of the metal-doped porous material is a particle of a porous carrier with metal microparticles and a plurality of hydroxyl groups on the surface of the porous carrier such that (i) the plurality of metal microparticles are attached to a first portion of the plurality of hydroxyl groups of the surface of the porous carrier and (ii) an amount of a phosphate-containing acid group or phosphate-containing acid groups can be bonded to a second portion of the plurality of hydroxyl groups of the surface of the porous carrier to form the modified catalyst.

An electrode catalyst layer, a membrane electrode assembly, and a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, which are capable of improving material transport properties and proton conductivity in the electrode catalyst layer, and which are capable of exhibiting high power generation performance over the long term and have good durability. The electrode catalyst layer for use in a polymer electrolyte fuel cell, and includes: a catalyst material; a conductive carrier that supports the catalyst material; a polymer electrolyte; and a fibrous material, wherein the fibrous material contains a material having nitrogen atoms, and the content of the fibrous material in the electrode catalyst layer is 1 wt % or more and less than 12 wt %.

An innovative fuel cell system with membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) includes a polymer electrolyte membrane, a gas diffusion layer (GDL) made of porous metal foam, and a catalyst layer. A fuel cell has a metal foam layer that improves efficiency and lifetime of the conventional gas diffusion layer, which consists of both gas diffusion barrier (GDB) and microporous layer (MPL). This metal foam GDL enables consistent maintenance of the suitable structure and even distribution of pores during the operation. Due to the combination of mechanical and physical properties of metallic foam, the fuel cell is not deformed by external physical strain. Among many other processing methods of open-cell metal foams, ice-templating provides a cheap, easy processing route suitable for mass production. Furthermore, it provides well-aligned and long channel pores, which improve gas and water flow during the operation of the fuel cell.

Provided is a microbial fuel cell including a cathode and an anode, wherein the cathode includes a waterproof gas diffusion layer including a siloxane and a catalyst layer including a binder, wherein a surface of the gas diffusion layer opposite the catalyst layer contacts air, and the anode includes electrogenic bacteria. Also provided is a method for making a microbial fuel cell, including fabricating a cathode, wherein fabricating includes disposing a siloxane solution onto a surface of a substrate, wherein the siloxane solution includes a siloxane and a solvent, drying the siloxane solution to form a waterproof gas diffusion layer, and placing the gas diffusion layer on a catalyst layer including a binder, and facing an anode with the cathode whereby the gas diffusion layer faces away from the anode and contacts air.

The present invention provides a catalyst which has oxygen reduction catalytic ability surpassing that of a platinum-carrying carbon material. This catalyst comprises a carbon material and a metal complex represented by formula (1). ##STR00001## In formula (1), X.sup.1 to X.sup.8 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, D.sup.1 to D.sup.4 each represent a nitrogen atom or a carbon atom wherein the carbon atom has bound thereto a hydrogen atom or a halogen atom, and M represents a metallic atom.

Disclosed are methods for forming a supported catalyst and catalysts formed according to disclosed methods. Methods include contacting a catalyst support with a precursor solution and displacing the solvent of the precursor solution (e.g., water) with a second solvent that has a lower surface tension than the first solvent. The second solvent displaces the first solution according to the Marangoni effect. Methods also include activation of the precursor to form a catalyst, e.g., a supported platinum group metal catalyst or the like.

The metal porous body having a framework of a three-dimensional network structure is disclosed. The framework is formed of a metal film, the framework has an interior that is hollow, and the metal film contains titanium metal or titanium alloy as a main component.

A method for producing a catalyst-coated membrane includes: preparing and/or providing a first ink having a first ink composition, comprising substrated catalyst particles proton-conducting ionomer and dispersing agent, in which the fraction of the substrated catalyst particles remains behind the fraction of the proton-conducting ionomer; preparing and/or providing at least one second ink having a second ink composition, comprising the substrated catalyst particles, the proton-conducting ionomer and the dispersing agent, in which the fraction of the proton-conducting ionomer remains behind the fraction of the substrated catalyst particles, unwinding a weblike proton-conducting membrane material provided on a roll; applying at least one layer of the first ink with a first application tool onto at least one section of the membrane material; and applying at least one layer of the second ink with a second application tool onto an outermost layer of the first ink deposited onto the membrane material

In order to provide a gas diffusion electrode medium having high thermal conductivity despite having low density and excellent both in handleability and cell performance, provided is a gas diffusion electrode medium including carbon fiber felt including carbon fibers having an average fiber diameter of 5 to 20 μm, wherein at least a part of the carbon fibers that constitute the carbon fiber felt have a flat part in which, in a plane view of a surface of the carbon fiber felt, a maximum value of a fiber diameter is observed to be 10 to 50% larger than the average fiber diameter, and a frequency of the flat parts at the surface of the carbon fiber felt is 50 to 200/mm.sup.2.