Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Probing and Mapping Electrode Surfaces in Solid Oxide Fuel Cells
Published on: September 20, 2012
On the Influence of Oxygen on the Degradation of Fe-N-C Catalysts
Kavita Kumar1, Laetitia Dubau1, Michel Mermoux1
1Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Savoie Mont Blanc, CNRS, Grenoble INP, LEPMI, 38000, Grenoble, France.
Abstract:
Fe-N-C catalysts containing atomic FeNx sites are promising candidates as precious-metal-free catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in proton exchange membrane fuel cells. The durability of Fe-N-C catalysts in fuel cells has been extensively studied using accelerated stress tests (AST). Herein we reveal stronger degradation of the Fe-N-C structure and four-times higher ORR activity loss when performing load cycling AST in O2 - vs. Ar-saturated pH 1 electrolyte. Raman spectroscopy results show carbon corrosion after AST in O2 , even when cycling at low potentials, while no corrosion occurred after any load cycling AST in Ar. The load-cycling AST in O2 leads to loss of a significant fraction of FeNx sites, as shown by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses, and to the formation of Fe oxides. The results support that the unexpected carbon corrosion occurring at such low potential in the presence of O2 is due to reactive oxygen species produced between H2 O2 and Fe sites via Fenton reactions.
Related Concept Videos
Catalysis
Oxidative Cleavage of Alkenes: Ozonolysis
Ozone is a symmetrical bent molecule stabilized by a resonance structure.
Turnover Number and Catalytic Efficiency
Chymotrypsin is a pancreatic enzyme that breaks down proteins during digestion. The...
Factors Influencing the Rate of Chemical Reactions
Concentration and Pressure:
The more particles present within a given space, the more likely those particles are to bump into one another.
Catalysis
Heterogeneous Catalysis

