In one embodiment, a method of forming a catalyst/substrate construction includes: identifying a catalyst having a specific activity, determining a surface area factor for supporting the catalyst based on the specific activity of the catalyst; selecting a substrate having the surface area factor; and applying the substrate to the catalyst to form the catalyst/substrate construction. In certain instances, the surface area factor may be determined according to the following equation: SA support ⁡ ( cm support 2 ⁢ / ⁢ cm planar 2 ) = [ “ Baseline ” ⁢ ( A ⁢ / ⁢ mg Pt ) × Mass ⁢ ⁢ Activity ⁢ ⁢ IF × Loading ⁢ ⁢ ( mg Pt ⁢ / ⁢ cm 2 ) ] [ Specific ⁢ ⁢ Activity ⁢ ⁢ ( μA ⁢ / ⁢ cm 2 ) × 0.000001 ⁢ ⁢ ( A ⁢ / ⁢ μA ) ] wherein the term “Baseline” refers to mass activity of 100 A per gram of platinum (Pt) for a comparative catalyst 5 nm Pt nano-particles dispersed on a carbon black support, the term “Mass Activity IF” refers to the activity required to achieve a high current density performance target of 1.5 A/cm2 at 0.67 V, at a platinum loading of 0.1 mg Pt/cm2.