Carbon-Supported Pt-SnO₂ Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction Reaction over a Wide Temperature Range: Rotating Disk Electrode Study

Abstract

Pt/C and Pt/x-SnO2/C catalysts (where x is mass content of SnO2) were synthesized using a polyol method. Their kinetic properties towards oxygen reduction reaction were studied by a rotating disk electrode (RDE) technique in a temperature range from 1 to 50 °C. The SnO2 content of catalyst samples was 5 and 10 wt.%. A quick evaluation of the catalyst activity, electrochemical behavior and average number of transferred electrons were performed using the RDE technique. It has been shown that the use of x-SnO2 (through modification of the carbon support) in a binary system together with Pt does not reduce the catalyst activity in the temperature range of 1–30 °C. The temperature rising up to 50 °C resulted in composite catalyst activity reduction at about 30%.

Keywords

• PEM fuel cell
• cathode catalysts
• oxygen reduction reaction
• rotating disk electrode
• catalyst activity
• hybrid carrier