Methodology for the design of accelerated stress tests for non-precious metal catalysts in fuel cell cathodes

In this work we propose systematic methods for testing non-precious group metal catalysts and support degradation alkaline fuel cell cathodes. In this case study, we used a cathode composed of a pyrolyzed non-precious metal catalyst (NPMC) on activated carbon. The vulnerabilities of the cathode components were studied in order to develop the methodology and design an accelerated stress test (AST) for NPMC-based cathode in alkaline environment. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA) and impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to characterize the electrochemical behavior of the cathode and to follow the changes that occur as a result of exposing the cathodes to extreme operating conditions. Rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE) was used to study the cathodes kinetics; Raman spectroscopy and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) were used to study the structural changes in the electrode surface as well as depletion of the catalysts’ active sites from the electrode. The changes in the composition of the electrode and catalyst were detected using X-ray diffraction (XRD). For the first time, we show that NPMC degrade rapidly at low operating potentials whereas the support degrades at high operating potentials and developed a tailor-made AST to take these into account.