Multilayer additive manufacturing of catalyst-coated membranes for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells by inkjet printing

Inkjet printing is a versatile, contactless and accurate material deposition technology. The present work focused on developing innovative strategies for inkjet of Catalyst-Coated Membranes (CCM) by performing Additive Manufacturing (AM) applied to Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFC), without resorting intermediate substrates. Three different approaches AM are presented discussed: a) inkjet-printing the membrane ionomer layer top catalyst layer; b) both layers onto membrane; c) as well reinforcement membrane. produced were characterized proved uniform in terms loading (0.2–0.4 0.08 mgPt cm?2 cathode anode, respectively), distribution thickness homogeneity (4 ?m layers). fully inkjet-printed CCM outperformed conventionally made assemblies electrochemical-performance testing, even reaching 15% higher power density.