Hydrogen Economy: The Role of Nano-scaled Support Material for Electrocatalysts Aimed for Water Electrolysis

摘要

The role and importance of support materials for electrocatalysts aimed for water electrolysis is given. Besides their superior support characteristics such as electroconductivity, a high developed surface area and chemical stability, support materials should be an active participant in the catalytic activity through strong metal-support interactions (SMSI) with the metallic catalytic phase. Subject of this paper are several support materials: (i) Vulcan XC-72, (ii) Vulcan XC-72 with TiO_2, (iii) multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and (iv) Magneli phases, i.e. nonstoichiometric titanium oxides. A comparison of catalytic activity of Co-based electrocatalysts deposited on all support materials mentioned is given.