Enhancing Water Management with Three-Dimensionally\nMicropatterned Anion Exchange Membranes for Alkaline Fuel Cells

Alkaline\nexchange membrane fuel cells (AEMFCs) offer a promising\nsolution for clean hydrogen utilization. However, effective water\nmanagement remains a challenge due to the concurrent generation and\nconsumption of water at the electrodes, which impacts the efficiency\nof AEMFCs at high current densities. Here, we report the fabrication\nof alkaline fuel cells with improved water management by employing\na three-dimensionally patterned alkaline exchange membrane (AEM) at\nthe interface with the cathode catalyst layer. This micropatterned\nAEM, made by soft lithography, enables a power density of 628 mW cm<sup>–2</sup> at a current density of 1100 mA cm<sup>–2</sup>, representing an approximately 50% performance improvement over\nidentical AEMFCs made from conventional two-dimensional AEMs. The\npatterned AEM also improves platinum utilization due to the increased\ncatalyst-membrane contact area and tailored catalyst layer thickness.