Cu-doped titanium suboxide fuel cell catalyst support prepared by sol-gel method: Unveiling the role of Cu as a lone dopant

IF 5.5 3区材料科学 Q1 ELECTROCHEMISTRY

Electrochimica Acta Pub Date : 2025-03-18 DOI:10.1016/j.electacta.2025.146067

Fanqi Kong , Reza Alipour Moghadam Esfahani , Oliver K.L. Strong , Iraklii I. Ebralidze , Andrew J. Vreugdenhil , E. Bradley Easton

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Abstract

In this study, we demonstrate a facile synthetic approach for a bottom-up sol-gel method for the preparation of a non-carbonaceous Cu-doped Ti₄O₇ suboxide (TOC) fuel cell catalyst support. In addition, we seek to achieve a better understanding of the role of Cu as a dopant and reveal its contribution to activity and stability in Pt/TOC during the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and corresponding accelerated stress tests (ASTs). The Pt/TOC catalyst showed an enhanced activity and stability over commercial Pt/C due to the strong metal support interaction between TOC and Pt. This enabled the catalyst to retain its oxygen reduction performance after extended load cycling tests. Thus, Cu as a lone dopant was effective in promoting oxygen vacancies and greatly reduces the electronic bandgap, however Cu was prone to leaching after repeated cycling protocols. Finally, we also observed a relatively decreased stability compared to our previous dual-doped systems, highlighting the importance of incorporating a secondary dopant species for synergistic effects in stability and activity.

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来源期刊

Electrochimica Acta 工程技术-电化学

CiteScore

11.30

自引率

6.10%

发文量

1634

审稿时长

41 days

期刊介绍： Electrochimica Acta is an international journal. It is intended for the publication of both original work and reviews in the field of electrochemistry. Electrochemistry should be interpreted to mean any of the research fields covered by the Divisions of the International Society of Electrochemistry listed below, as well as emerging scientific domains covered by ISE New Topics Committee.