JET VAPOR DEPOSITION OF ULTRA-THIN PLATINUM CATALYST LOADINGS DIRECTLY ON POLYMER ION-EXCHANGE MEMBRANES FOR FUEL CELL APPLICATIONS

POLYMER ELECTROLYTE FUEL CELL (PEFC) TECHNOLOGY HAS GREAT PROMISE FOR THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE. HOWEVER, STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNOLOGY CURRENTLY REQUIRES CATALYST LOADINGS OF EXPENSIVE NOBLE METALS SUCH AS PLATINUM (PT) AT COSTS WHICH HINDER ECONOMIC VEHICULAR APPLICATION OF PEFCS. A NOVEL JET VAPOR DEPOSITION (JVD) PROCESS WILL BE USED TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM. JVD IS CAPABLE OF HIGH RATE, HIGHLY EFFICIENT DEPOSITION OF METAL PARTICLES. THIS PROJECT WILL DEPOSIT ULTRA-THIN, NANOMETER-SIZED LOADINGS OF HIGH SURFACE AREA PT ELECTROCATAYLST CLUSTERS DIRECTLY ON THE SURFACE OF POLYMER ELECROLYTES SUCH AS NAFION(TM) (DUPONT). PHASE I WILL TEST AND EVALUATE SAMPLES TO DETERMINE THE CATALYTIC EFFECTIVENESS OF THESE ULTRA-THIN PT DEPOSITS. IT WILL ALSO DEVELOP PRELIMINARY STUDIES ON PROCESS SCALE-UP AND PRODUCTION ECONOMICS. SPECIALISTS IN PEFC TECHNOLOGY AT LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY AND BALLARD POWER SYSTEMS WILL PARTICIPATE IN PHASE I.