Design and Application of External Reference Electrode for Kinetic Studies at Elevated Temperatures and Pressures

Abstract

We present the design and application of an external reference electrode (RE) system for kinetic studies of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), the cathode process in high temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs), at elevated temperatures and pressures inside an autoclave. The RE system comprises a solid ion-conducting junction based on Nafion tubing. External RE was a reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE) calibrated reproducibly relative to an internal RHE with an uncertainty