Primary Oxide Latent Storage and Spillover Enabling Electrocatalysts with Reversible Oxygen Electrode Properties and the Alterpolar Revertible (PEMFC versus WE) Cell

Surface in and ex situ analysis have shown that in the course of cathodic oxygen reduction (ORR), all along the reversible potential range (the low slope Tafel plots, about 30 mVs/dec), nanostructured Pt electrocatalyst is covered by the interfering primary (Pt–OH) and surface (PtO) oxide mixture, while the higher polarization (120 mVs/dec) characterizes electrocatalytic surface deprived from these oxides and, consequently, the reaction …