Considering the need for alternative and efficient energy sources, fuel cells appear to be a viable and cost-effective solution. One of the more acute setbacks in the commercial distribution and utilization of this technology is the lifetime of the fuel-cell which is mostly limited by the stability of the electrode.¹ In this regard, carbon-based materials are not suitable as an electrode material since carbon undergoes severe corrosion in fuel-cell ambience.

In the quest to find more durable alternatives, Nano-structures of ceramic carbides and nitrides such as Mo₂C, TiN and more were synthesized via facile solid-state synthesis paths and utilized as support material for the deposition of Pt catalyst in order to be studied as durable, corrosion-resistant ceramic-based systems for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Catalyst integration techniques that further increase the stabilization and corrosion-resistance of the catalyst-support systems were employed as well. Concurrently, these techniques also enable the usage of low Pt loadings in order to satisfy the economical issues arising due to the use of precious metal catalysts (PMC).

The synthesized ceramic compounds were found to be devoid of free carbon despite their organic precursors, making them potentially compatible as fuel cell electrode material.

Furthermore, they were found to be superior at almost every fuel cell-related parameter than any other equivalent carbonaceous systems examined. Parameters like ORR performance showed circa 10% more positive half-wave value, and corrosion resistance tested using accelerated stress tests (ASTs) showed about 40% better initial ECSA preservation. Additionally, even the post-AST Pt/ceramic systems were found to show more positive half-wave potential (around 30 mV) over the pre-AST carbon-based equivalent.²

The corrosion mechanism of these ceramic-based systems is also being under investigation which suggest the formation of several oxide species that tend to dissolve in the aqueous medium over time.

1. O. Lori and L. Elbaz Catalysts, 2015, 5, 1445.
2. O. Lori, S. Gonen and L. Elbaz, Journal of The Electrochemical Society, 2017, 164, F825-F830.