Catalytic Activity and Stability of Tungsten-Oxide Electrocatalyst for Fuel Cell Applications

The commercialization of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is intrinsically tied to the successful development of stable and durable PEMFC components. A major failure mode for the PEMFC involves the degradation of the electrocatalyst which can arise from a combination of factors including catalyst particle ripening (sintering), catalyst dissolution and catalyst support corrosion. In this talk, we will present the synthesis and characterization of electrocatalyst supported on tungsten oxide and modified tungsten oxide. A low-temperature controlled deposition-technique was employed to synthesize zero-valent metal electrocatalyst supported on tungsten oxide and modified-tungsten oxide. The catalytic activity and stability of the catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) for fuel cell applications will be discussed.