Electrochemical Preparation of Pt Cathode with Polyvinylpyrrolidone as an Additive for Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Pt cathode electrode was electrochemically fabricated to improve the catalyst utilization in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell. Pt particle size was controlled with polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as an inhibiting agent during pulse electrodeposition. Electrochemical surface area of electrodeposited electrode with the PVP was 3.4 times higher than electrode without the PVP. Membrane electrode assembly with an electrodeposited cathode with 7 g/L of the PVP showed the highest cell performance and Pt utilization based on unit mass of Pt cathode. Double catalyst layers electrode with two-step electrodeposition was prepared to increase the utilization of electrodeposition. Higher density of small particles was in charge of a high electrochemical surface area and enhanced performance of the cell, compared with single-step eletrodeposition electrode.