Preparation of Carbon–Supported Ir–Ru Alloys for Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell Anodes under Cell Reversal Conditions

Abstract

Cell reversal processes caused by fuel starvation during startup and shutdown can significantly affect the performance and durability of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). To mitigate this issue, carbon–supported Iridium (Ir) – Ruthenium (Ru) alloy was considered to be one of promising PEMFC anode materials. Herein, we prepared carbon–supported Ir–Ru alloys via simple wet impregnation followed by solid–state reduction process under hydrogen (H2) or nitrogen (N2) gas flow with temperature variation from 200 to 900℃. The size, shape, stoichiometric composition, and structural information of the prepared carbon–supported Ir–Ru alloys were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP–MS), X–ray diffraction (XRD), and X–ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) analysis, leading to different electrochemical properties in terms of hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). This study can provide valuable information on the synthetic parameters for carbon supported Ir–Ru alloys to ease the degradation of conventional carbon–supported Platinum (Pt) owing to cell reversal issues.