A method for preparing a support for an electrode catalyst including forming first and second polymer layers having charges different from each other on a surface of a carbon support and carbonizing the result, wherein the polymers included in the first and the second polymer layers are an aromatic compound including a heteroatom, and the first or the second polymer includes a pyridine group.

A washing device includes executors for executing a normal washing step and a reverse washing step before executing a plate opening step and a cake peeling step. The normal washing step is a step for supplying a washing water to a filter chamber, allowing the washing water to pass through a cake, and then discharging the washing water from filtrate discharge outlets. The reverse washing step is a step for supplying a washing water from the filtrate discharge outlet(s) to the filter chamber, allowing the washing water to pass through the cake, and then discharging the washing water from the filtrate discharge outlet(s) which are different from the filtrate discharge outlet(s) from which the washing water is supplied. The thickness of the electrode catalyst precursor-containing cake at the time of the injection step is adjusted to that of a range that has been previously and experimentally determined.

A perovskite-type composite oxide powder is a perovskite-type composite oxide powder represented by a general formula ABO.sub.3-δ (where δ represents an amount of deficiency of oxygen and 0≤δ<1), an element contained in an A site is La, elements contained in a B site are Co and Ni and a crystallite size determined by a Williamson-Hall method is equal to or greater than 20 nm and equal to or less than 100 nm. In this way, when the perovskite-type composite oxide powder is used as an air electrode material for a fuel cell, an air electrode in which the resistance thereof is low and the conductivity thereof is high can be obtained.

A layered cathode structure for a molten carbonate fuel cell is provided, along with methods of forming a layered cathode and operating a fuel cell including a layered cathode. The layered cathode can include at least a first cathode layer and a second cathode layer. The first cathode layer can correspond to a layer that is adjacent to the molten carbonate electrolyte during operation, while the second cathode layer can correspond to a layer that is adjacent to the cathode collector of the fuel cell. The first cathode layer can be formed by sintering a layer that includes a conventional precursor material for forming a cathode, such as nickel particles. The second cathode layer can be formed by sintering a layer that includes a mixture of particles of a conventional precursor material and 1.0 vol % to 30 vol % of particles of a lithium pore-forming compound. The resulting layered cathode structure can have an increased pore size adjacent to the cathode collector to facilitate diffusion of CO.sub.2 into the electrolyte interface, while also having a smaller pore size adjacent to the electrolyte to allow for improved electrical contact and/or reduced polarization at the interface between the electrolyte and the cathode.

The present disclosure relates to antioxidant for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell electrode catalyst, which includes cerium hydrogen phosphate (HCe.sub.2(PO.sub.4).sub.3(H.sub.2O)) in the form of a nanofiber, and an electrode and a membrane-electrode assembly including the same. The electrode for a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell of the present disclosure, wherein the antioxidant is dispersed, can improve the mechanical strength of an electrode catalyst layer and can minimize deterioration of chemical durability even after long-term operation. And, a fuel cell including the same can exhibit high output performance and can operate stably even after long-term operation.

Provided is an electrochemical oxygen reduction catalyst comprising platinum-containing nanoparticles and at least one member selected from the group consisting of a specific polymer containing a melamine compound as a monomer and a specific melamine compound, the electrochemical oxygen reduction catalyst having not only high oxygen reduction activity (low overvoltage), but also high durability at 70 to 85° C., which are practical temperature conditions.

A metal-air battery includes: a cathode formed of a co-continuous body having a three dimensional network structure formed by an integrated plurality of nanostructures having branches; a foil- or plate-like anode formed of a metal; a separator that absorbs a liquid, which is to be an electrolytic solution; and a foil- or plate-like current collector formed of a metal. The metal-air battery is formed with a wound structure in which the current collector, the cathode, the separator, the anode, and the separator are superimposed and wound in this order.

A porous body including a framework having a three-dimensional network structure, the framework having a body including nickel, cobalt, a first element and a second element as constituent elements, the cobalt having a proportion in mass of 0.2 or more and 0.8 or less relative to a total mass of the nickel and the cobalt, the first element including of at least one element selected from the group including of boron, iron and calcium, the second element including of at least one element selected from the group consisting of sodium, magnesium, aluminum, silicon, potassium, titanium, chromium, copper, zinc and tin, the first and second elements together having a proportion in mass of 5 ppm or more and 50,000 ppm or less in total relative to the body of the framework.

Disclosed are a carbon-based carrier that is capable of increasing catalyst activity as much as that of a porous type while having excellent durability unique to that of a solid type, a catalyst comprising same, a membrane-electrode assembly comprising same, and a method for preparing same. The carbon-based carrier for a fuel cell catalyst of the present invention is a solid-type carrier, and has an outer surface area of 100-450 m.sup.2/g, a mesopore volume of 0.25-0.65 cm.sup.3/g, and a micropore volume of 0.01-0.05 cm.sup.3/g.

A nanowire catalyst for a fuel cell has a porous structure in which first and second pores having predetermined pore sizes are uniformly dispersed inside and on the surface thereof at a predetermined volume ratio. This enables the efficient exposure of active sites and efficient mass transfer, thereby improving fuel cell performance.