Document Type
Article
Subject Area(s)
Chemical Engineering
Abstract
The effect of silicone on the catalytic activity of Pt for oxygen reduction and hydrogen adsorption was studied using diphenyl siloxane as a source compound at a rotating disk electrode (RDE). Diphenyl siloxane did not affect the catalytic activity of Pt when it was injected into the electrolyte. However, it blocked the oxygen reduction reaction when it was premixed with the catalyst. Proton transport was not blocked in either case. We postulate that diphenyl siloxane induces hydrophobicity and causes local water starvation, thereby blocking oxygen transport. Hence, the slow leaching of silicone seals in a fuel cell could cause silicon accumulation in the electrode, which irreversibly degrades fuel cell performance by blocking oxygen transport to the catalyst sites.
Publication Info
Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters, 2007, pages B207-B209.
Rights
© The Electrochemical Society, Inc. 2007. All rights reserved. Except as provided under U.S. copyright law, this work may not be reproduced, resold, distributed, or modified without the express permission of The Electrochemical Society (ECS). The archival version of this work was published in Electrochemical and Solid-State Letters.
http://www.electrochem.org/
DOI: 10.1149/1.2787870
Publisher's Version: http://dx.doi.org/10.1149/1.2787870