image: Via data mining about commercial Pt/C from 514 references, researchers revealed a reliable standard reference for the evaluation of new ORR electrocatalysts from different laboratories. view more
Credit: Chinese Journal of Catalysis
Developing lowcost and highly efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) to replace commercial Pt/C has always been desired to greatly reduce the cost of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. The parameter of half-wave potential (E1/2) obtained from linear-sweep voltammetry (LSV) in O2-saturated acid/alkaline medium on a rotating disk electrode (RDE) is commonly used for characterizing the ORR performance of all kinds of new electrocatalysts. With higher value of E1/2, the ORR performance becomes better. For comparison, the E1/2 value of Pt/C is extensively used as a benchmark.
The intrinsic activity of a Pt/C catalyst should be fixed in principle, while the E1/2 value of the same type of commercial Pt/C catalyst obtained in different labs varied in a wide range. Many factors, such as electrolyte, diameter of the electrode, Pt loading, scan rate, iR-corrected or not, positive or negative scan performed, even some human factors, etc., seem to affect the obtained final "apparent" ORR performance of a Pt/C catalyst. Such fact makes it difficult to objectively evaluate the ORR activity of new electrocatalysts from different laboratories.
Recently, a research team led by Prof. Weilin Xu from Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, CAS and University of Science and Technology of China conducted a meta-analysis of the ORR performance of commercial Pt/C via data mining from 514 references to reveal the optimal testing conditions for the most repeatable ORR performance of commercial Pt/C in both acid and alkaline electrolytes; the optimal Pt loading was 20 μg/cm2 on a 4 mm glassy carbon working electrode. The value of 0.84 ± 0.03 V was suggested as the "Golden reference" of the commercial Pt/C (with Pt 20 wt.%) ORR half-wave potential for the performance evaluation of other ORR catalysts in both acid and alkaline electrolytes. The result were published in Chinese Journal of Catalysis (DOI: 10.1016/S1872-2067(21)63854-8).
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Chinese Journal of Catalysis is co-sponsored by Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Chemical Society, and it is currently published by Elsevier group. This monthly journal publishes in English timely contributions of original and rigorously reviewed manuscripts covering all areas of catalysis. The journal publishes Reviews, Accounts, Communications, Articles, Highlights, Perspectives, and Viewpoints of highly scientific values that help understanding and defining of new concepts in both fundamental issues and practical applications of catalysis. Chinese Journal of Catalysis ranks among the top six journals in Applied Chemistry with a current SCI impact factor of 8.271. The Editors-in-Chief are Profs. Can Li and Tao Zhang.
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Article Title
Meta-analysis of commercial Pt/C measurements for oxygen reduction reactions via data mining
Article Publication Date
17-Nov-2021