A polymer chemist´s view on fuel cell electrodes

A new method for preparing fuel cell electrodes is described which gives results equal if not superior to the classical method. Instead of pressing the catalyst containing carbon black with solid polymer particles and then sintering, here the carbon is mixed with a polymer solution, a film is cast and immersed in a nonsolvent, which then precipitates the polymer. It is shown that electrodes prepared this way give results comparable to commercial electrodes. while their Pt content per unit area is even somewhat lower than that of the commercial ones. Scanning electron microscope pictures show that these electrodes have wide pores, and some arguments are given which may explain why these electrodes give such good results in spite of the fact that they are prepared from an ordinary commercial hydrogenation catalyst and do not contain the classical high surface area activated carbons