Patent ID: 8486280

Claim:
A method of forming a nanostructured surface on a polymer electrolyte membrane of a membrane electrode assembly for a fuel cell, the method comprising: forming a plurality of nano hair structures on a surface of a polymer electrolyte membrane by performing plasma-assisted etching on the surface of the polymer electrolyte membrane placed in a plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) chamber, maintained at a pressure of 1.0×10 −7 to −2.75×10 −4 Pa, at a bias voltage of −100V to −50 kV for 1 second to 60 minutes during the plasma-assisted etching in the PACVD chamber; and supporting or depositing catalyst on the surface of the polymer electrolyte membrane having the plurality of nanostructures formed by the plasma treatment, wherein the nanostructures are nano-hair structures having a width of 1 to 1,000 namometers and a length of 1 to 10.000 nanometers, wherein the nano-hair structures have aspect ratio of 1:50 (width:height).