A comparative study of the processing scheme of chitosan and Nafion 117 in membrane electrode assembly

Abstract

The authors considered two fabrication techniques in the fabrication of the membrane electrode assembly. It was observed that catalytic deposition through electro-spraying was not successful for chitosan and Nafion 117 membranes. Chitosan membranes are highly crystalline in their dry form and as a result the sprayed Pt/C and PtRu/C catalytic layers became detached from the membrane surface when immersed in a mixture of water and methanol. This was not the case when both membranes were subjected to hot-pressing as both catalytic layers were successfully transferred onto the surfaces of chitosan and Nafion 117 membranes. For chitosan membranes, the catalysts adhered onto the membrane both in its dry form and when hydrated in distilled water