Zirconium oxide-based cathode prepared by partial oxidation of carbonitrides as non-precious metal cathode for polymer electrolyte fuel cells

摘要

Group 4 and 5 metal oxide-based compounds such as partially oxidized tantalum carbonitride, ZrO_(2-x), ZrO_xN_y, TiO_(2-x), and TaC_xN_y might be candidates for the new cathode material of polymer electrolyte fuel cells, if they have high catalytic activity for oxygen reduction. These materials are stable in acidic and oxidative atmosphere. A significant cost reduction of PEFCs might be possible using these materials. In this paper, we prepared partially oxidized zirconium carbonitrides (Zr-CNOs) at various heat treatment temperatures. The dependences of the heat treatment temperature on the crystalline structure and the ORR activity of the Zr-CNOs were investigated to obtain the principle of oxide-based catalyst design.