A novel multilayer membrane electrode assembly (MEA) for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is fabricated in this work, within a single spray-coating device. For the first time, direct membrane deposition is used to fabricate a PEMFC by spraying the short-side-chain ionomer Aquivion directly onto the gas diffusion electrodes. The fully sprayed MEA, with an Aquivion membrane 10 gm in thickness, achieved a high power density of 1.6 W/cm(2) for H-2/air operation at 300 kPa(abs). This is one of the highest reported values for thin composite membranes operated in H2/air atmosphere. By the means of confocal laser scanning microscopy, individual carbon fibers from the gas diffusion layer are identified to penetrate through the micro porous layer (MPL), likely causing a low electrical cell resistance in the range of 150 Omega cm(2) through the thin sprayed membranes. By spraying a 200 nm graphene oxide/cerium oxide (GO/Ce0(2)) interlayer between two layers of Aquivion ionomer, the impact of the electrical short is eliminated and the hydrogen crossover current density is reduced to about 1 mA/cm(2). The peak power density of the interlayer-containing MEA drops only by 10% compared to a pure Aquivion membrane of similar thickness. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.