Deposition of Platinum using Nafion Membranes as Templates

Nafion membranes are one of the commonly used electrolytes in Hydrogen and Methanol fuel cells. This membrane was found to absorb water and phase separate into hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains under operating conditions. To produce electrical energy in a fuel cell, these hydrophilic domains must provide a continuous pathway from the anode to the cathode and also the catalyst is required at either end. Introduction of the catalyst, Platinum, was done through electrochemical deposition through the hydrophilic channels of the Nafion membrane. It was determined that this technique deposit all the Platinum (Pt) nanoparticles at the active sites. The advantage of this technique is the increased utilization of the catalyst and could be an effective way to place the catalyst in a fuel cell. This method also makes sure that none of the catalyst goes to waste and that all catalyst sites are available for the electrochemical process. Once these substrates are pieced together, it will be characterized by using techniques such as Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). Through these methods, pulse-deposition or electrochemical deposition of catalysts may present some promising applications in economizing fuel cells with no reduction in its efficiency.