Effect of rotating disk electrode conditions on oxygen evolution reaction activity of Ir nanoparticle catalysts and comparison with membrane and electrode assemblies

In this study, we investigated the parameters of the rotating disk electrode (RDE) affecting the activity evaluations for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER). To precisely obtain the activation polarization, the impacts of RDE parameters on the measured OER activity are examined using various iridium catalysts. The potential range, catalyst loading on the disk electrode and anions in the electrolyte have a significant impact on the catalytic activity. The OER activities of the Ir catalysts under the optimized RDE conditions are compared with those determined using a labo-scale electrolyzer test cell and membrane and elec-trode assembly (MEA). The OER activity of MEA after stabilization is consistent with that of the RDE results. Therefore, the RDE half-cell with proper evaluation condition should be a useful and rapid initial catalyst screening method to estimate the OER activity in the MEA.(c) 2022 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.