A membrane electrode assembly (MEA) was designed by incorporating an interlayer between the catalyst layer and the gas diffusion layer (GDL) to improve the low relative humidity (RH) performance of proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Oil the top of the micro-porous layer of the GDL. a thin layer of doped polyaniline (PANI) was deposited to retain moisture content in order to maintain the electrolyte moist, especially when the fuel cell is working at lower RH conditions, which is typical for automotive applications. The surface morphology and wetting angle characteristics of the CDLs coated with doped PANI samples were examined using FESEM and Goniometer, respectively. The surface modified GDLs fabricated into MEAs were evaluated in single cell PEMFC between 50 and 100% RH conditions using H-2 and O-2 as reactants at ambient pressure. It was observed that the MEA with camphor sulfonic acid doped PANI interlayer showed an excellent fuel cell performance at all RH conditions including that at 50% at 80 degrees C using H-2 and O-2. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.