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Published December 18, 2008 | public
Journal Article

Towards Understanding Electrocatalysis in CsH_2PO_4-Based Fuel Cells: Platinum and Palladium Thin Film Electrodes

Abstract

Fuel cells based on CsH_2PO_4 electrolytes have demonstrated promising power densities, but the kinetics of electrode reactions remain largely uncharacterized. Here, the hydrogen oxidation kinetics of Pd and Pt thin film electrodes on CsH_2PO_4 are probed using A.C. impedance spectroscopy under humidified H_2/Ar gas mixtures. It was found that the polarization resistance of the Pd electrode is approximately ten times smaller than that of the Pt electrode. Furthermore, the electrode polarization resistances for both the Pd | CsH_2PO_4 | Pd and Pt | CsH_2PO_4 | Pt systems increase significantly on cooling through the superprotonic phase transition, suggesting that the rate-limiting processes for hydrogen oxidation are closely tied to proton dynamics in the CsH_2PO_4 electrolyte.

Additional Information

© 2008 ECS - The Electrochemical Society. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation via the Caltech Center for Sustainable Energy Research.

Additional details

Created:
August 20, 2023
Modified:
October 18, 2023