Ultra-low Pt content PEMFC electrodes have been manufactured using magnetron cosputtering of carbon and platinum on a commercial E-Tek ® uncatalyzed gas diffusion layer in plasma fuel cell deposition devices. Pt loadings of 0.16 and 0.01 mg cm -2 have been realized.The Pt catalyst is dispersed as small clusters with size less than 2 nm over a depth of 500 nm.PEMFC test with symmetric electrodes loaded with 10 µg cm -2 led to maximum reproducible power densities as high as 0.4 W cm -2 and 0.17 W cm -2 with Nafion ® 212 and Nafion ® 115 membranes, respectively.

Structural and calorimetric investigation of Ge(x)Te(100-x) films over wide range of concentration 10 < x < 50 led to evidence two structural singularities at x ∼ 22 at. % and x ∼ 33-35 at. %. Analysis of bond distribution, bond variability, and glass thermal stability led to conclude to the origin of the first singularity being the flexible/rigid transition proposed in the framework of rigidity model and the origin of the second one being the disappearance of the undercooled region resulting in amorphous materials with statistical distributions of bonds. While the first singularity signs the onset of the Ge-Ge homopolar bonds, the second is related to compositions where enhanced Ge-Ge correlations at intermediate lengthscales (7.7 Å) are observed. These two threshold compositions correspond to recently reported resistance drift threshold compositions, an important support for models pointing the breaking of homopolar Ge-Ge bonds as the main phenomenon behind the ageing of phase change materials.