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Simple Methods for the Preparation of Non-noble Metal Bulk-electrodes for Electrocatalytic Applications
Published on: June 21, 2017
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Best Practice for Evaluating Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Economy
Matthew A Bird1, Sean E Goodwin1, Darren A Walsh1
1Nottingham Applied Materials and Interfaces Group GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratory for Sustainable Chemistry, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG7 2TU, United Kingdom.
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces
|April 14, 2020
Summary
Contamination from counter electrodes (Pt, Au) can skew electrocatalyst testing. Nafion membranes fail to prevent this, but a glass frit setup with carbon counter electrodes offers a solution for accurate hydrogen evolution studies.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Energy Conversion
Background:
- Accurate screening of electrocatalysts is crucial for advancing energy devices like fuel cells and electrolyzers.
- Platinum (Pt) and gold (Au) counter electrodes can dissolve during testing, contaminating the electrocatalyst and yielding inaccurate results.
- Nafion membranes are commonly used to isolate counter electrodes, but their effectiveness is questionable under certain testing conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the limitations of Nafion membranes in preventing counter electrode contamination during electrocatalyst stability testing.
- To explore the reciprocal contamination effects between carbon, Pt, and Au electrocatalysts.
- To propose an effective setup for reliable electrocatalyst evaluation.
Main Methods:
- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS)
- Energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX)
- Mass spectrometry
- Voltammetry
- Constant-current stability testing
Main Results:
- Nafion membranes do not prevent Pt and Au contamination of carbon electrocatalysts during hydrogen evolution testing.
- Carbon counter electrodes can contaminate and deactivate Pt and Au electrocatalysts.
- A setup using a glass frit to separate a carbon counter electrode from the test electrocatalyst effectively prevents contamination.
Conclusions:
- Standard Nafion membrane separation is insufficient for preventing counter electrode contamination in extended electrocatalyst stability tests.
- A novel setup with a glass frit and carbon counter electrode is essential for accurate electrocatalyst performance evaluation, particularly for hydrogen evolution reactions.
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