A bird's eye perspective of the measurement of oxygen reduction reaction in gas diffusion electrode half-cell set-ups for pt electrocatalysts in acidic media

Abstract

Reliable electrochemical testing protocols assessing the catalytic performance of novel materials, such as the rotating disk electrode method to determine the oxygen reduction reaction activity, play an essential role in the knowledge-based design of tailored electrocatalysts. However, these techniques are unable to accurately predict the performance of the developed electrocatalysts in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) which are ultimately used in full fuel cell measurements. Half-cell tests of gas diffusion electrodes have been shown to be a good compromise, with economical use of electrocatalysts while also mimicking the three-phase boundary in MEA during the presence of humidified reactant gas. In this review, we aim for a bird's eye view of the set-ups already reported, how the testing protocols differ and how the protocols can be unified for a more consistent performance evaluation.