Fundamentals of Rotating Disc and Ring–Disc Electrode Techniques and their Applications to Study of the Oxygen Reduction Mechanism at Pt/C Electrode for Fuel Cells

Abstract

This article is concerned with the fundamental and experimental overview of the rotating disc electrode (RDE) and rotating ring–disc electrode (RRDE) techniques. First, this review provides a brief discourse on the basic concepts and general descriptions of the RDE and RRDE techniques. Then, the theoretical derivation of the governing equations for the RDE and RRDE is described with the definition of the important kinetic parameters. Finally, the experimental applications of RDE and RRDE techniques to investigate the mechanism and kinetics of oxygen reduction at Pt‐dispersed carbon (Pt/C) electrodes for fuel cells are discussed in detail from a practical point of view.

Perovskite Electrocatalysts for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Alkaline Media

“…Product currents can be measured by forcing the product to convect to a second working electrode where it is detected using an electrochemical reaction. Most commonly, rotating ring disk electrodes (RRDE) [114][115][116][117] are employed where peroxide is oxidized at the ring. Currents can then be assigned to hydroxide and hydroperoxide production under the assumptions that (i) superoxide can be excluded; (ii) that there are no side reactions or (iii) transition metal redox; and (iv) that the determined collection efficiency is appropriate for the reaction products.…”

“…While hydroperoxide is miscible with water, it is also very reactive so that the time dependence should be considered when evaluating currents detected at the ring. The measurement of kinetic currents, in particular using (R) RDEs, is well established for metals [1,91,117,121] and calculation of product-specific currents belonging to the hydroperoxide (2 e − ) and hydroxide (4 e − ) products is common. For the oxides discussed herein, product-specific currents [56,97] or kinetic constants [57,64] were exclusively reported for composite electrodes containing carbon.…”

Green‐Synthesized Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon‐Based Aerogels as Environmentally Friendly Catalysts for Oxygen Reduction in Microbial Fuel Cells

“…Thec hoice was carried out by takingi nto account the results obtained from rotating ring disk electrode (RRDE)-based electrochemical measurements that are well-known in the literature as the best tool for studyinge lectrocatalytic materialp roperties. [30][31][32] Theb estp erforming N-doped C-based (NC) aerogels (among those prepared from glycine and one from lysine) were used to fabricate cathodes for testing in MFCsf or 50 days.A ccording to the electrical characterizationc arried out during the cell tests,t he MFCs containing the glycine-derived NC aerogels had the bestp erformancea sc atalysts for oxygenr eduction reaction. To investigate the reason for the different behavior between glycine and lysine-derived NC aerogels,s everalc haracterization techniques,s uch as fieldemission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms,e nergy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), were performed.…”

Formic Acid and Methanol Oxidation for Pt/C Catalyst Depending on Rotating Speed, Scan Rate and Concentration

“…The rotating disc electrode (RDE) is the classical hydrodynamic electroanalytical technique used to limit the diffusion layer thickness [11]. RDE is one of the major research tools in fuel cell technology [12]. The main advantage is an enhanced mass transfer of reactants to the electrode surfaces, so that evaluation of catalytic activity is carried out by measuring kinetic currents of electrocatalytic reactions [13].…”