Fundamental Structural Studies of Polymers in Fuel Cell/Green Hydrogen Applications

Johnson-Matthey (JM) has invested heavily in Hydrogen Technologies e.g., in the area of Fuel Cells
and Green Hydrogen. This project will aim to provide fundamental understanding of the complex
interactions between critical polymers, solvent and active particles that are used in fuel cells and green
hydrogen formulations. A typical formulation can be composed of active precious metal supported
carbon and/or metal oxide particles, solvent-types (aqueous and non-aqueous) in the presence of
conducting polymers (polyelectrolytes), as well as non-ionic types. Polymers also exhibit rheology
modifying properties and, in the case of associative polymers, act as structuring agents when they
adsorb onto the particle surface. Advancing the fundamental understanding of polymer behaviour in
such systems and their interactions with the other formulation components is expected to be critical
for the successful development of next-generation formulations and directly applicable to coating
processes and the performance of the application e.g., fuel cell.