High performance and durability of order-structured cathode catalyst layer based on TiO2@PANI core-shell nanowire arrays

Abstract In this paper, an order-structured cathode catalyst layer consisting of Pt-TiO 2 @PANI core-shell nanowire arrays that in situ grown on commercial gas diffusion layer (GDL) are prepared and applied to membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In order to prepare the TiO 2 @PANI core-shell nanowire arrays with suitable porosity and prominent conductivity, the morphologies of the TiO 2 nanoarray and electrochemical polymerization process of aniline are schematically investigated. The MEA with order-structured cathode catalyst layer is assembled in the single cell to evaluate the electrochemical performance and durability of PEMFC. As a result, the PEMFC with order-structured cathode catalyst layer shows higher peak power density (773.54 mW cm −2 ) than conventional PEMFC (699.30 mW cm −2 ). Electrochemically active surface area (ECSA) and charge transfer impedance (R ct ) are measured before and after accelerated degradation test (ADT), and the corresponding experimental results indicate the novel cathode structure exhibits a better stability with respect to conventional cathode. The enhanced electrochemical performance and durability toward PEMFC can be ascribed to the order-structured cathode nanoarray structure with high specific surface area increases the utilization of catalyst and reduces the tortuosity of transport pathways, and the synergistic effect between TiO 2 @PANI support and Pt nanoparticles promotes the high efficiency of electrochemical reaction and improves the stability of catalyst. This research provides a facile and controllable method to prepare order-structured membrane electrode with lower Pt loading for PEMFC in the future.