Processing and functionalization of conductive substoichiometric TiO 2 catalyst supports for PEM fuel cell applications

The development of substoichiometric TiO 2 -based nanostructured materials with high aspect ratios for future proton exchange membrane fuel cells is investigated. Nanostructures were manufactured using atomic layer deposition of TiO 2 over both anodic aluminum oxide templates and silicon nanowires. It was observed in this work that nanostructures with aspect ratios of 100:1 can be fabricated using both methods. The conductivity of TiO 2 films was enhanced following a postdeposition reducing anneal (at 450 °C in H 2 ). Liquid phase-deposited Pt and plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition of Pt were both found to be appropriate suited for metallization of TiO 2 structures.