Influence of the dispersion state of ionomer on the dispersion of catalyst ink and the construction of catalyst layer

The ionomer state in the catalyst ink of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) plays a critical role in the formation of the catalyst/ionomer interface on the catalyst layer (CL). In this study, the effect of ionomer dispersion state on catalyst ink dispersion and the construction of a reasonable CL was investigated. The study of catalyst inks revealed that the dispersion of n-propanol (NPA) -ionomer dispersion or sonication could effectively reduce the catalyst particle size in inks. For shear-dispersion and homogenizer-dispersion inks, the catalyst particle size was reduced from 6.17 nm to 5.12 nm and from 5.12 nm to 4.67 nm, respectively. The ionomer dispersion was capable of significantly reducing the size of agglomerates in the ink, which resulted in a reduction in the particle size of agglomerates on the surface of the cathode CL and an improvement in its flatness. The pore size distributions of the MEA cathode catalyst layers showed that water bath ultrasonic treatment of the ionomer could result in a more reasonable pore structure for the catalyst layer. The single-cell test revealed that changing the ionomer's dispersion state could significantly increase the fuel cell's output voltage to 0.707 V at 1000 mA cm−2, and the cell's power density to 1028 mW cm−2 at 2000 mA cm−2.