Enhancement of oxygen reduction activity of zirconium oxide-based cathode for PEFC

In order to develop a non-precious metal cathode for PEFCs, we have tried Zr oxide based materials. To synthesize fine particles, we used oxy-zirconium phthalocyanine (ZrOPc) as a starting material. ZrOPc was placed on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and treated under 0.005 similar to 0.5% O-2 + 2% H-2 - N-2 and 4% H-2 - N-2 atmosphere at 900 degrees C. The slow scan voltammetry (SSV) was performed to evaluate the catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) under nitrogen and oxygen atmosphere separately in 0.1 mol dm(-3) H2SO4 at 30 degrees C. The XRD analysis of these catalysts showed tetragonal ZrO2. The particle size was about 10 nm. The maximum ORR current was up to 300 mA g(-1) Cat /C at 0.8 V. This value was 300 times higher than Zr-CNO(CN) we reported before.