Increased Stability of Palladium-Iridium-Gold Electrocatalyst for the Hydrogen Oxidation Reaction in Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cells

The development of non-Pt hydrogen oxidation reaction catalysts for hydrogen-fuelled polymer electrolyte fuel cells allows for an overall reduction in electrode Pt content and therefore helps reduce the cost of devices, one of the biggest commercial challenges. Herein, a novel ternary alloy catalyst supported on carbon, PdIrAu/C, has been synthesised, characterised and compared to the binary PdIr/C to show how the addition of Au improves the stability of the catalyst. Transmission electron microscopy was utilised to analyse electrode structure as a function of the synthesis method, showing the optimum annealing temperature, of those tested, to be 400 °C, while inductively-coupled plasma mass spectrometry provided analysis of the degradation of the two catalysts, confirming the PdIrAu/C catalyst is more stable at potentials similar to those at a fuel cell anode than PdIr/C.