TECHNOLOGY FOCUS - ORGANIC CHEMISTRY - Preferred Device: The solid electrolyte membrane is pretreated for 24 hours with a softening and swelling agent having a solution of water and aliphatic alcohols, preferably 10-90 % isopropanol and water. The sprayer device has an exit tube arrangement providing a means of eliminating catalyst material wastage.Preferred Method: The first and second catalyst layers are applied by pouring a catalyst ink directly onto the membrane surface. The catalyst ink is especially formulated for pouring and comprises 7-10% catalyst, 60-70 % Nafion (RTM: cation exchange material) solution, 15-20 % PTFE-30 (RTM: polytetrafluoroethylene) and is diluted to 11% solids. The catalyst layers are loaded to 2-3 mg/cm2. The pretreated solid electrolyte membrane is spread while still wet on a fine absorbent lint-free tissue. The pretreated wet membrane is held in a frame defining an area over which the ink is poured and spread. The ink is spread by a glass rod and the catalyst layers are dried by slow evaporation, preferably by storing the coated membrane in a sealed polyethylene bag having a very small orifice. Evaporation takes 24-48 hours. The catalyst ink is viscosity adjusted for spraying by addition of water and isopropanol. The catalyst layers are loaded to 1-2 mg/cm2. The pretreated membrane is held in a non-corrodible frame, preferably a rotating duel cut out mounting jig. The catalyst ink is sprayed onto the pretreated solid electrolyte membrane from a predetermined distance such that the ink does not dry before reaching the membrane. The catalyst layers are dried by a blowing heat gun without cracking or dislodgment from the membrane surface. The blowing heat gun produces air at 40-60 degrees C. The spraying process is repeated until a predetermined catalyst loading is achieved.The first support substrate is prepared from plain TGPH-090 or 060 (RTM: paper) or the paper is optionally taken through a 5-20% teflonisation process. The membrane is sandwiched between an anode and cathode, held in a press at 500-1500 psi for 10 minutes and heated at 145 degrees C for 25-30 minutes, followed by cooling to 60 degrees C, removal from the press and storage in water in a sealed bag. The first and second support substrates are carbon paper. EXAMPLE - A catalyst ink mixture comprising 150 mg catalyst, 0.7-1.4 g 5% solution of Nafion (RTM: ionomer) and 0.2-0.4 g Teflon (RTM: PTFE emulsion) was diluted to 11% solids by addition of isopropanol and water. The catalyst was platinum for the cathode and platinum ruthenium for the anode. The ink was applied by pouring onto a pretreated membrane held in a frame and spread using a glass rod followed by slow drying in a sealed polyethylene bag containing very small orifices.    A fuel cell containing the electrode membrane assembly had a performance of 0.55 V at 300 mA/cm2 on oxygen. In comparison prior art devices produce 0.45V at 300 mA/cm2 on air.