. . . . . . . . . .    ANM 2010     3rd International Conference on Advanced Nano Materials     12-15 September 2010 - Agadir, Morocco Back    Abstract ANMM267 ATMOSPHERIC PLASMA DEPOSITION: A NEW PATHWAY IN THE DESIGN OF CONDUCTING POLYMER-BASED ANODES FOR HYDROGEN FUEL CELLS Marc Michel*, Jérôme Bour*, Julien Petersen*, Claire Arnoult*, Frank Ettingshausen**, Christina Roth** and David Ruch*  *Centre de Recherche Public Henri Tudor, Department of Advanced Materials and Structures, Esch-sur-Alzette, L-4002, Luxembourg **Institute for Materials Science, TU Darmstadt, D-64287 Darmstadt, Germany . In this study, we explore thin films of nanofibrous functionalized conducting plasma Polyaniline (pPANI) with platinum deposited by an atmospheric plasma deposition process for the potential design of anodes for hydrogen fuel cell applications. We expect that the incorporation of such a polymer, characterized by both electronic and ionic conductivity, associated with a catalyst in a 3D porous network, could lead to an increased probability of the three-phase contact to occur. In this context, aniline was mixed with functionalized platinum nanoparticles and used as the precursor. The role of these functionalized nanoparticles was not only to act as the catalyst for fuel cell purposes, but also as nucleation sites promoting the formation of the nanofibrous pPANI thin film during the plasma polymerization. The morphology of the thin film was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and the efficiency, in terms of energy conversion, was assessed in a commercial single fuel cell test bench. . © nanoAC . . . . . . . . . .

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