Electrostatic Landscape Design for Ionomer Adhesion and Poison-Resistant Platinum Catalysis in Fuel Cells

Uneven ionomer distribution and sulfonate groups (-SO₃ ^-) poisoning at platinum (Pt) sites significantly impede Pt utilization and local mass transport in proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Herein, we report an electrostatic landscape design on nanocarbon supports that harnesses strong and uniform ionomer adhesion to create a poison-resistant Pt interface, effectively mitigating direct poisoning of Pt sites by -SO₃ ^- groups and enhancing active sites accessibility and local mass transport. The resulting PtFe/FN-C catalyst exhibits an exceptionally low ionomer coverage of only 6.4%, enabling a peak power density of 1.39 W cm^-2 and an oxygen transport resistance of only 44.5 s m^-1 in PEMFC testing. Furthermore, it demonstrates impressive durability, with only a 2 mV voltage loss after 30 000 cycles at 0.8 A cm^-2. This work establishes a new principle for interface engineering where overall polymer-support adhesion governs local catalyst-functional group interactions, offering a general strategy for designing high-performance, poison-resistant electrocatalysts for energy conversion technologies.