Hydrophilic
anodes were prepared by electrophoretic deposition
using a slurry containing hollow SiO2 (h-SiO2) nanospheres and commercial Pt–C nanocatalysts. Low humidifying
membrane–electrolyte assemblies (MEAs) were then prepared,
which were incorporated into single proton exchange membrane fuel
cells (PEMFCs). The effect of humidity on the cell voltage and that
of the h-SiO2 mass fraction on the MEA power performance
and resistance were examined. The MEA stability was evaluated. Adding
h-SiO2 nanospheres to the catalyst increased the Pt mass
activity from 1997 to 2657 A/gPt at an operating voltage
of 0.6 V at a 100% relative humidity (RH); it increased from 1557
to 2611 A/gPt at 0.6 V and 30% RH. The current density
voltage (i–V) and electrochemical-impedance
results showed that the addition of h-SiO2 reduced both
anode activation loss and ohmic polarization. In addition, the low
humidifying MEAs exhibited the same i–V relationship over a wide humidity range. After long-term
operation in the absence of moisture, the cell voltage of a standard
MEA was found to reduce by 15.55% whereas that of our proposed single
cell dropped by only 7.18%. The power density of our proposed MEA
was enhanced by a factor of 1.5 relative to a regular MEA.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.