Issue 5, 2016

Innovative catalyst design for the oxygen reduction reaction for fuel cells

Abstract

A combination of chemical and electrochemical catalysis is introduced herein as a new approach to overcome one of the most challenging and persistent issues in fuel cell cathodes. Demonstrated using hematite (α-Fe2O3) nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode, this bifunctional fuel cell catalyst system prevails the slow kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction by rapid heterogeneous disproportionation of hydrogen peroxide. Whilst the catalytic efficiency of glassy carbon is limited to the two-electron reduction of oxygen, modification with hematite drastically improves it to equivalent to the four-electron pathway. This is due to regeneration of the cathodic fuel through the rapid decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The importance of such system is stressed as the formation of water rather than hydrogen peroxide is essential to maximize the energy output of the fuel cell. Cycling of oxygen reduction/regeneration boosts the activity of a low-cost catalyst to be comparable to that of platinum and concurrently reduces the risk of cell degradation.

Graphical abstract: Innovative catalyst design for the oxygen reduction reaction for fuel cells

Article information

Article type
Edge Article
Submitted
12 jan 2016
Accepted
11 feb 2016
First published
11 feb 2016
This article is Open Access

All publication charges for this article have been paid for by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Creative Commons BY license

Chem. Sci., 2016,7, 3364-3369

Innovative catalyst design for the oxygen reduction reaction for fuel cells

K. Shimizu, L. Sepunaru and R. G. Compton, Chem. Sci., 2016, 7, 3364 DOI: 10.1039/C6SC00139D

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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