Durability of titanium-niobium oxides mixed with ti4o7 as non-preciousand carbon-free cathodes for PEFCs in H2SO4 at 80°C

Abstract

To develop durable cathodes, their durability in acidic media at 80°C, which is close to the operation temperature of present polymer electrolyte fuel cells, must be evaluated. We attempted to use a Ti4O7 rod as the substrate, and it was observed to be more suitable than a glassy carbon rod because of its higher electrochemical stability. We evaluated the durability of titanium-niobium oxides mixed with Ti4O7 powder (TixNbyOz+Ti4O7) as a non-preciousand carbon-free cathode in 0.1 mol dm?3 H2SO4 at 80°C. We successfully demonstrated that the TixNbyOz+Ti4O7 did not deteriorate during start-stop and load cycle tests when a Ti4O7 rod substrate was employed.