Mechanism of Cathodic Performance Enhancement by a Few-Nanometer-Thick Oxide Overcoat on Porous Pt Cathodes of Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

Alireza Karimaghaloo, Angela Macedo Andrade, Simranjit Grewal, Joon Hyung Shim, Min Hwan Lee

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    21 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    In a recent report, we demonstrated that few-nanometer-thick yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) coating on a porous Pt cathode of a solid oxide fuel cell is an excellent facilitator of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) kinetics and an effective suppressor of Pt agglomeration. In this article, we reveal the actual role of the YSZ overcoat in the ORR process through a series of electrochemical analyses. Without the overcoat, the nanoporous Pt is significantly agglomerated during a high-temperature operation and the ORR becomes limited by the availability of triple phase boundaries (TPBs). An ultrathin YSZ overcoat prevents the ORR process from being limited by TPB area by preserving the morphology of its underlying Pt layer. More importantly, the overcoat acts as an excellent facilitator of the atomic-oxygen-species-mediated chemical process(es) that used to be rate-limiting in the ORR of a noncoated Pt/YSZ system.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)806-813
    Number of pages8
    JournalACS Omega
    Volume2
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2017 Mar 31

    Bibliographical note

    Publisher Copyright:
    © 2017 American Chemical Society.

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • General Chemistry
    • General Chemical Engineering

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