The oxygen reduction reaction activity of the electrodes of the fuel cell is low.
To increase the reaction activity, a large amount of platinum has been used for the electrode material of the fuel cell. How to reduce the amount of the platinum used is one of the problems to be urgently solved.
A platinum – cerium oxide (auxiliary catalyst) nano-composite material presented one of the solutions to the problem. It exhibits an excellent oxygen reduction reaction activity. The reaction activity is higher than of the platinum.
A mechanism to increase the reaction mechanism in the auxiliary catalyst was experimentally elucidated through the in-situ measurement using X-rays that are radiated by utilizing Spring-8 (= Super Photon ring-8, the world's largest synchrotron radiation facility).
The successful elucidation will pave the way of developing electrode materials having further enhanced properties. >> More
