A Recyclable Standalone Microporous Layer with Interpenetrating Network for Sustainable Fuel Cells.

The commercialization of fuel cells inevitably brings recycling problems. Therefore, achieving high recyclability of fuel cells is particularly important for their sustaianble development. Herein, a recyclable standalone microporous layer (MPL) with interpenetrating network that can significantly enhance the recyclability and sustainability of fuel cells was prepared. The interpenetrating network enables the standalone MPL with high strength (17.7 MPa), gas permeability (1.55 × 10 -13 m 2 ), and fuel cell performance (peak power density 1.35 W cm -2 ), providing the basic guarantee for its application in high-performance and highly recyclable fuel cells. Additionally, the standalone MPL is highly adaptable to various GDBs, providing high possibility to select highly recyclable GDBs. Outstandingly, the standalone MPL and gas diffusion backing (GDB) can be easily detached from spent membrane electrode assembly (MEA). This not only saves > 90 vol% solvent in the recovery of catalyst coated membrane (CCM), but also extends the service life of GDBs and standalone MPLs at least 138 times (2,760,000 hours assuming 20,000 hours of CCM) comparing to CCM. Therefore, the standalone MPL significantly enhances the recyclability and sustainability of fuel cells and is promising to be an indispensable component in the next-generation fuel cells. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.