Pt/SiO2 catalyst as an addition to Nafion/PTFE self-humidifying composite membrane

A novel self-humidifying reinforced composite membrane for the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) was developed. Pt/SiO2 catalyst particles were dispersed uniformly into the Nafion resin, and then Pt–SiO2/Nafion/PTFE reinforced composite membrane was prepared using solution-cast method. Compared with the performance of the fuel cell with commercial Nafion® NRE-212 membrane, the cell performance with the self-humidifying composite membrane was obviously improved under both humidified and dry conditions at 80–120 °C. The self-humidifying composite membrane could minimize membrane conductivity loss under dry conditions due to the presence of catalyst and hydrophilic Pt/SiO2 particles.