Zirconium Oxide for PEFC Cathodes

摘要

The electrocatalytic activity of sputtered ZrO_x. catalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and its solubility in the acidic medium are shown. The saturated solubility of the sputtered ZrO_x was 3.2 X 10~(-4) g-Zr dm~(-3) (0.32 ppm) in 1 mol dm~(-3)H_2SO_4 at 70 deg C. This shows that ZrO_x has high stability in acid medium. The oxygen reduction current of ZrO_x was observed below 0.9 V, which indicates a clear catalytic activity of ZrO_x for the ORR. The electrocatalytic activity of ZrO_x for ORR was affected by the sputtering conditions and was enhanced by Au. This study was an investigation to see if ZrO_x might be a substitute for platinum cathodes in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs).