Niobium Interlayer Coating: Is it a Practical Approach to Tune the Protective Pt Loading in PEM Water Electrolyzers?

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) water electrolysis is a pioneering and promising method for sustainable green hydrogen generation. However, the high cost of PEM water electrolyzer components poses a significant barrier to the commercialization and widespread application of this technology. In this research, a novel Niobium-Platinum coating is developed for the porous transport layer (PTL) to reduce the precious metal loading. Niobium (Nb)-based coating was applied as an interlayer between Pt and titanium (Ti) felt substrates to increase the adhesion of Pt. For this study, pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique was applied for the first time to coat Nb and Pt multilayers onto Ti felt substrates. The results demonstrate that incorporating a Nb coating as an interlayer lead to reducing the Pt loading, which holds promise for the practical application of PTLs in PEM water electrolyzers.