Fuel cell electrode structures containing sulfonated organosilane-based proton conductors

► Ceramic carbon electrode (CCE) for fuel cells prepared from sulfonated organosilane precursors. ► Employed novel spray deposition of partially gelled CCE layer onto gas diffusion layer. ► CCE catalyst layers show very high active areas and high proton conductivity. ► Fuel cell performance comparable to that of Nafion-based fuel cell electrodes. Ceramic carbon electrodes (CCE) for PEM fuel cells have been prepared in a one-pot procedure from a mixture of tetra ethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and 3-trihydroxysilyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (TPS) polymerized in the presence of a platinized carbon with concurrent spray deposition of the partially gelled ink onto a gas diffusion layer. The CCE showed fuel cell performance comparable to commercially available Nafion-based cathodes. This high activity is explained in terms of the high electrochemically active surface area resulting from the enhanced proton conductivity in the CCE.