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For a Polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) to be used commercially in stationary or transportation applications, cost and durability are the major challenges. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art to understand the degradation of fuel cell components and to develop design improvements to mitigate or eliminate such degradation. At Ballard, an accelerated stress test (AST) has been developed and used to evaluate the degradation resistance of different cathode catalyst materials and structures. Some cathode catalyst layer designs shown here demonstrated increased resistance to performance degradation due to carbon corrosion and Pt agglomeration/dissolution/migration without compromising performance.

Cost and durability are major challenges for the commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. Accordingly, there remains a need in the art to understand the degradation of fuel cell components and to develop design improvements to mitigate or eliminate such degradation. Carbon support corrosion and Pt dissolution/aggregation are considered as the major contributors to the degradation of the carbon-supported Pt or Pt alloy catalysts. This paper will provide recent advances at Ballard in the performance and stability improvement of the carbon supported Pt and Pt alloy catalysts in PEM fuel cells. An accelerated stress test (AST) has been developed and used to evaluate the degradation resistance of different cathode catalyst materials and structures. It is demonstrated that the morphology, physical and chemical characteristics of these carbon supports have significant effects on the performance and stability of the electrocatalysts.

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