In this work, we investigated the influence of catalyst supports, particularly Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area of the catalyst support materials, on membrane electrode assembly (MEA) performance. Keeping the anode catalyst layer (CL), membrane, Pt loading, and operating condition unchanged, we prepared cathode CLs using catalysts of identical Pt content (30 wt% Pt) which were supported on carbon black materials having different BET surface areas. We observed optimum cell voltage at high current load when using cathode catalyst layers prepared from catalysts supported on carbons having medium-BET surface area. High-BET surface area supports, although beneficial at low current density as well as low-BET surface area supports, led to increased voltage losses at high current load due to mass transport limitations which can be explained by the electrochemically active surface area available and water management in the catalyst layer.
Durable Membrane Electrode Assemblies for Proton Exchange Membrane Electrolyzer Systems Operating at High Current Densities
