Since the most common and effective catalyst, platinum, is extremely expensive, alternative processing is necessary to maximize surface area and minimize loading. Deposition of nanosized Pt particles onto carbon powder (Pt/C) provides a large Pt surface area while the carbon allows for electrical connection between the catalyst and the rest of the cell. Platinum is so effective because it has high activity and bonds to the hydrogen just strongly enough to facilitate electron transfer but not inhibit the hydrogen from continuing to move around the cell. However, platinum is less active in the cathode oxygen reduction reaction. This necessitates the use of more platinum, increasing the cell's expense and thus feasibility. Many potential catalyst choices are ruled out because of the extreme acidity of the cell. The most effective ways of achieving the nanoscale Pt on carbon powder, which is currently the best option, are through vacuum deposition, sputtering, and electrodeposition. The platinum particles are deposited onto carbon paper that is permeated with PTFE. However, there is an optimal thinness to this catalyst layer, which limits the lower cost limit. Below 4 nm, Pt will form islands on the paper, limiting its activity. Above this thickness, the Pt will coat the carbon and be an effective catalyst. To further complicate things, Nafion cannot be infiltrated beyond 10 um, so using more Pt than this is an unnecessary expense. Thus the amount and shape of the catalyst is limited by the constraints of other materials. A second method of increasing the catalytic activity of platinum is to alloy it with other metals. For example, it was recently shown that the Pt3Ni(111) surface has a higher oxygen reduction activity than pure Pt(111) by a factor of ten. The authors attribute this dramatic performance increase to modifications to the electronic structure of the surface, reducing its tendency to bond to oxygen-containing ionic species present in PEM fuel cells and hence increasing the number of available sites for oxygen adsorption and reduction. Further efficiencies can be realized using an Ultrasonic nozzle to apply the platinum catalyst to the electrolyte layer or to carbon paper under atmospheric conditions resulting in high efficiency spray. Studies have shown that due to the uniform size of the droplets created by this type of spray, due to the high transfer efficiency of the technology, due to the non-clogging nature of the nozzle and finally due to the fact that