Performance of an ePTFE-Reinforced Membrane Electrode Assembly for Proton-Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells

The fabrication approach of a membrane electrode assembly (MEA) is closely related to the performance and durability of the fuel cell. In this work, we combine reinforcement-embedding technology with a direct membrane deposition approach to prepare a gas diffusion electrode (GDE) with an expanded poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (ePTFE)-reinforced membrane and then assemble a reinforced MEA. Compared with the traditional MEA, the reinforced MEA exhibits higher performance, especially under low-humidity operating conditions. Under H2/air operating conditions, the cell performance of the reinforced MEA reaches 724 mW cm–2 (80 °C, 100% relative humidity (RH), normal pressure). With the addition of ePTFE reinforcement, the mechanical durability of the reinforced MEA is significantly improved. After 3000 cycles of alternative dry/wet conditions, the reinforced MEA exhibited lower hydrogen permeation and less performance degradation compared with the unreinforced MEA. This work provides a new and facile way for improving the mechanical durability of MEAs.