Preparation of hydrophobic electrocatalyst layer and inorganic porous electrolyte layer for water absorbing porous electrolyte electrolysis cell

A water-absorbing porous electrolyte electrolysis cell is presented consisting of a hydrophobic gas diffusion layer (GDL), a controlled-hydrophobicity electrocatalyst layer, and a hydrophilic porous electrolyte layer. The specific character of this cell is that high-pressure water is injected directly into the porous electrolyte layer and is resisted by the electrocatalyst layer and GDL, which have strong water support force. In this study, the preparation method of the electrocatalyst layer and the porous inorganic electrolyte layer, and the evaluation of water electrolysis using the prepared layers were investigated. The optimized conditions and preparation methods of each layer of the MEA (i.e. the GDL, electrocatalyst layer, electrolyte layer) were determined. The assembly method and conditions of these three layers were also determined for fabricating MEAs for water electrolysis. The evaluation of water electrolysis tests using this MEA showed that the hydrogen evolution rate obeyed Faraday's Law in the low current density region (<10 mA cm⁻²).