Development of Gold Electrocatalysts for Alkaline Media

摘要

A research program for the development of carbon-based gold electrode technologies for oxygen reduction in alkali media was conducted. A Phase I feasibility study established very favorable oxygen reduction kinetics on the Au(100) surface and developed a fabrication technique for producing small (less than 20A), highly dispersed gold electrocatalysts. The Phase II program consisted of two parts: (1) development of small, highly dispersed supported gold electrocatalysts and development of corrosion resistant support material for chlor-alkali applications, and (2) development of low-cost, high performance gold electrodes for a commercial oxygen gas sensor. For the oxygen sensor application, thirty electrodes, demonstrated for a period of six months, passed all performance criteria. The chlor-alkali applications included three fuel cell derived technologies: (1) fuel cell, (2) electrochemical concentrator, and (3) air-depolarized cell. Researchers investigated the effect of carbon support, gold catalyst content, and catalyst heat treatment temperature on electrode performance. An economic analysis of each of these technologies incorporated at a chlor-alkali facility was conducted.