Preparation and Characterization of Ruo2 Catalysts for Oxygen Evolution in a Solid Polymer Electrolyte

RuO2 electrocatalysts were synthesized and characterized for the oxygen evolution reaction in a Solid Polymer Electrolyte (SPE) electrolyzer. The catalysts were prepared by a colloidal preparation procedure and thermal treatment at different temperatures from 200 to 350 ºC. The material characterization was carried out by XRD, TG-DSC and TEM analyses. The RuO2 catalysts were sprayed onto a Nafion 115 membrane with a loading of 3 mg cm-2. A Pt catalyst was used at the cathode compartment with a loading of 0.6 mg cm-2. The electrochemical activity of MEAs was investigated in a single SPE cell and in a conventional three-electrode half-cell by using linear voltammetry, impedance spectroscopy and chronoamperometry. The maximum current density at high potential (1.8 V) was obtained for RuO2 calcined at 300°C for 1 h. The chronoamperometric measurements shown that the most stable catalyst was the RuO2 calcined at 300°C for 3 h.