Characterization of different plasma-treated cobalt oxide catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Plasma-synthesized cobalt oxide supported on carbon has been analyzed for its use for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction reaction （ORR） in alkaline anion exchange membrane fuel cells （AEMFC）. This work presents the ORR activity in 0.1 mol L-1 KOH and 0.1 tool L-1 K2CO3 at 25 ℃. Cyclic voltammetry （CV） was used to determine the potentials at which the ORR occurs and to evaluate the stability of catalyst. Moreover, a rotating ring-disk electrode （RRDE） was used to investigate the activity of the catalysts and the formation of the by-product hydroperoxide anion （HO2-） as well as to identify the preferred pathway of the ORR. Calculated kinetic parameters for the ORR for the cobalt catalysts are shown in this work together with a comparison to a commercial platinum catalyst. However, the cobalt oxide produced more by-products which could lead to damage of the membrane in a fuel cell through a radical attack of the polymer backbone.

扫描电化学显微镜在功能材料分析中的应用

扫描电化学显微镜是一种扫描探针技术,利用微电极检测发生在固/液、液/液或者气/液界面反应物或者反应产物的连续变化。这里将对该技术原理进行详细说明。过去我们工作主要都集中在固定化酶的活性成像。最近研究的领域开始拓展到与能源转变相关材料上,如染料敏化太阳能电池和(生物)燃料电池的氧气催化还原。起初的尝试已经扩展到如何扩宽研究材料的范围和成像模式的应用范围。扫描电化学显微镜的反馈和产生-收集模式已被用于研究染料敏化太阳能电池半导体/电解质界面的光激发染料阳离子再生过程。现在开始关注更多的与太阳能的再生,燃料电池或染料敏化太阳能电池相关的复杂反应,这些复杂的反应包括外部质量传输过程、内部质量和电荷传输过程、多孔物质反应中心的本身活性等。