Authors
Heemin Park, Kate Chen, Su Min Ahn, Hengquan Guo, Cy Fujimoto, Jong-Ho Choi, Lynda Amichi, Danah Kim, Seung Geol Lee, Xiaojing Wang, Jacob S Spendelow, Sun Young Kang, Panagiotis Bexis, Eun Joo S Park, Yu Seung Kim
Published in
Advanced materials (Deerfield Beach, Fla.). Pages e74561. Aug 12, 2026. Epub Aug 12, 2026.
Abstract
Reducing reliance on perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in proton-exchange membrane fuel cells requires hydrocarbon ionomers that combine high performance with long-term durability, a persistent challenge in catalyst-layer design. Here, we identify oxidation-driven ionomer-catalyst interfacial degradation as a dominant failure pathway in hydrocarbon ionomer-bonded cathodes and introduce an adsorption-engineering strategy to overcome this limitation. The comparison of a commercial sulfonated poly(phenylene) (Pemion) with structurally engineered sulfonated poly(fluorene)s demonstrated that electrode durability is governed by the interplay between ionomer adsorption strength and resistance to oxidative degradation on carbon-supported Pt catalysts. A poly(fluorene) ionomer with mobile alkyl sulfonic acid groups forms resilient interfaces, delivering 1.28 A cm- 2 at 0.65 V under fully humidified H2/air conditions (80°C and 150 kPaabs), comparable to Pemion. After 90,000 accelerated potential cycles, the poly(fluorene)-bonded cathode exhibits significantly improved durability, with only 29% performance loss compared to 58% for Pemion; further molecular refinement reduces the loss to 17%, approaching that of Nafion-bonded cathodes (14%). These findings establish adsorption-engineered ionomer design that decouples interfacial anchoring from oxidative degradation as a general strategy for achieving durable, high-performance PFAS-free PEM fuel cell electrodes.
PMID:
42581713
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 12 Aug 2026.
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