title: Accelerating Oxygen-Reduction Catalysts through Preventing Poisoning with Non-Reactive Species by Using Hydrophobic Ionic Liquids.
abstract: Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a prerequisite for broad market penetration of low-temperature fuel cells. A major barrier stems from the poisoning of surface sites by nonreactive oxygenated species and the sluggish ORR kinetics on the Pt catalysts. Herein we report a facile approach to accelerating ORR kinetics by using a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL), which protects Pt sites from surface oxidation, making the IL-modified Pt intrinsically more active than its unmodified counterpart. The mass activity of the catalyst is increased by three times to 1.01 A mg(-1) Pt @0.9 V, representing a new record for pure Pt catalysts. The enhanced performance of the IL-modified catalyst can be stabilized after 30 000 cycles. We anticipate these results will form the basis for an unprecedented perspective in the development of high-performing electrocatalysts for fuel-cell applications.
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Chemische Reaktionstechnik, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Gui-Rong
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Chemische Reaktionstechnik, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Macarena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Munoz
authors.affiliation: Lehrstuhl für Chemische Reaktionstechnik, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Egerlandstrasse 3, 91058, Erlangen, Germany. bastian.etzold@fau.de.
authors.forename: Bastian J M
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6530-4978
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Etzold
keywords: hydrophobicity; ionic liquids; nonreactive oxygenated species; oxygen reduction; supported catalysts