Enhancement of activity of RuSex electrocatalyst by modification with nanostructured iridium towards more efficient reduction of oxygen

Abstract Electrocatalytic activity of carbon (Vulcan XC-72) supported selenium-modified ruthenium, RuSe x /C, nanoparticles for reduction of oxygen was enhanced through intentional decoration with iridium nanostructures (dimensions, 2–3 nm). The catalytic materials were characterized in oxygenated 0.5 mol dm −3 H 2 SO 4 using cyclic and rotating ring disk voltammetric techniques as well as using transmission electron microscopy and scanning electron microscopy equipped with X-ray dispersive analyzer. Experiments utilizing gas diffusion electrode aimed at mimicking conditions existing in the low-temperature fuel cell. Upon application of our composite catalytic system, the reduction of oxygen proceeded at more positive potentials, and higher current densities were observed when compared to the behavior of the simple iridium-free system (RuSe x /C) investigated under the analogous conditions. The enhancement effect was more pronounced than that one would expect from simple superposition of voltammetric responses for the oxygen reduction at RuSe x /C and iridium nanostructures studied separately. Nanostructured iridium acted here as an example of a powerful catalyst for the reduction of H 2 O 2 (rather than O 2 ) and, when combined with such a moderate catalyst as ruthenium–selenium (for O 2 reduction), it produced an integrated system of increased electrocatalytic activity in the oxygen reduction process. The proposed system retained its activity in the presence of methanol that could appear in a cathode compartment of alcohol fuel cell.