Phosphate-resistant catalyst material having optimum surface modification and method of mitigating phosphate poisoning in a fuel cell

A method for mitigating phosphoric acid poisoning in polymer electrolyte fuel cells comprising phosphoric acid or phosphonated ionomers as a proton conductor or a catalyst binder, said method comprising:

• providing at least one catalyst layer which comprises a surface-modified catalyst material to an electrode in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), wherein the surface-modified catalyst material comprises
• platinum-containing nanoparticles on a carbon support;
• and
• a phosphate-resistant surface-modifying additive comprising poly (melamine-co-formaldehyde) (PMF) formed on a surface of the platinum-containing nanoparticles to form surface-modified catalyst nanoparticles;
• and
• wherein the phosphate-resistant surface-modifying additive covers between 10 to 40% of the surface of the surface-modified catalyst nanoparticles.