Electrocatalytic Activity of Transition Metal Oxide-Carbon Composites for Oxygen Reduction in Alkaline Batteries and Fuel Cells

Conductive transition metal oxides (perovskites, spinels and pyrochlores) are attractive as catalysts for the air electrode in alkaline rechargeable metal-air batteries and fuel cells. We have found that conductive carbon materials when added to transition metal oxides such as calcium-doped lanthanum cobalt oxide, nickel cobalt oxide and calcium-doped lanthanum manganese cobalt oxide increase the electrocatalytic activity of the oxide for oxygen reduction by a factor of five to ten. We have studied rotating ring-disk electrodes coated with (a) various mass ratios of carbon and transition metal oxide, (b) different types of carbon additives and (c) different types of transition metal oxides. Our experiments and analysis establish that in such composite catalysts, carbon is the primary electro- catalyst for the two-electron electro-reduction of oxygen to hydroperoxide while the transition metal oxide decomposes the hydroperoxide to generate additional oxygen that enhances the observed current resulting in an apparent four-electron process. These findings are significant in that they change the way we interpret previous reports in the scientific literature on the electrocatalytic activity of various transition metal oxide- carbon composites for oxygen reduction, especially where carbon is assumed to be an additive that just enhances the electronic conductivity of the oxide catalyst.