Effect of support type and synthesis conditions on the oxygen reduction activity of Ru x Se y catalyst prepared by the microwave polyol method

• Published in: Electrochimica acta Vol. 55; no. 9; pp. 3286 - 3294
• Main Authors: Nekooi, Parisa, Amini, Mohammad K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 2010
• Subjects: Fuel cell; Microwave-assisted polyol synthesis; Nanoporous carbon; Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); Ru xSe y; Ru x Se y; Nanoporous carbon; Fuel cell; Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR); Microwave-assisted polyol synthesis
• ISSN: 0013-4686; 1873-3859
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2009.12.102

Ru x Se y nanoparticles supported on different carbon substrates were synthesized by microwave heating of ethylene glycol solutions of Ru(III) chloride and sodium selenite at different pH and Ru/Se mole ratios. The resulting catalysts were used for the electrochemical oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in acidic solution. The electrochemical activity was highest for the supported catalyst synthesized at pH 8. Increasing the Se concentration of the catalyst up to 15 mol% increased the catalytic activity for the ORR; at this Se concentration, the activity of the catalyst was considerably higher than that observed for pure Ru catalyst synthesized at exactly the same conditions. The influence of the type of carbon support on the activity of the electrocatalyst was also investigated. Among the different supports, including carbon black (Vulcan XC-72R) (C1), and nanoporous carbons synthesized from resorcinol- (C2) and phloroglucinol–formaldehyde (C3) resins, the Ru x Se y catalyst supported on C3 exhibited highest activity for ORR.