Accelerated Degradation and High Potential Treatment of E-TEK Anodic GDE by An Improved Half Cell

Abstract

In this work, an improved three-electrode half cell and corresponding working electrode was designed and implemented to establish an environment as close as possible to that of an actual direct methanol fuel cells, and especially, to meet the requirements for long-time degradation analysis. A series of accelerated degradation tests and the high potential activation treatments of E-TEK anode gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) were carried out to confirm the stability and applicability of the electrochemical devices. The data were acquired by combinations of electrochemical analyses (EIS, CO-Stripping and CV) and ICP-MS analyses in the accelerated degradation tests of E-TEK anode GDEs and high potential treatments. Special attention has been paid to analyzing the amount of Ru dissolved in supporting electrolyte by ICP-MS, which provides quantitative information of Ru dissolution non-destructively.