Electrooxidative materials and various method for preparing electrooxidative materials formed from an alloy of oxophilic and electrooxidative metals. The alloy may be formed using methods such as spray pyrolysis or mechanosynthesis and may or may not include a supporting material which may or may not be sacrificial as well as the materials.

A method for manufacturing a functionalized metal oxide product configured to be used in an anode catalyst layer of a fuel cell can include forming a catalyst solution, which can include mixing a metal oxide in water. A stock solution can be formed by mixing a fatty acid in water. The stock solution can be added to the catalyst solution to form a solid fraction and a liquid fraction. The solid fraction can be removed from the liquid fraction. The solid fraction can be washed and dried, thereby forming the functionalized metal oxide product. The functionalized metal oxide product is configured to improve the cell reversal tolerance of the fuel cell.

Disclosed are a catalyst, a method for producing the catalyst, an electrode comprising the catalyst, a membrane-electrode assembly comprising the electrode, and a fuel cell comprising the membrane-electrode assembly, the catalyst having superb catalytic activity that can be obtained by means of a simple post-treatment process of the raw catalyst. The catalyst according to the present invention comprises a support, and metal particles supported therein, wherein the metal particles comprise main particles and an additional metal layer thereon, and the main particles and additional metal layer comprise the same metal elements. The metal particles have a budding structure or a rod structure by having just a particular latticed active surface of the main particles grow to form the additional metal layer, or a core-shell structure by having the entire latticed active surface of the main particles grow to form the additional metal layer.

Systems and methods of the various embodiments may provide bifacial sealed gas diffusion electrode (GDE) assemblies. In some embodiments, a bifacial sealed gas diffusion electrode (GDE) assembly includes active electrode layers on two opposing sides of the assembly. Various embodiments may provide architecture and/or sealing methods for GDE assemblies. In various embodiments, the GDE assemblies may be for use in devices. In various embodiments, the devices may be primary or secondary batteries. In various embodiments, these devices may be useful for energy storage. For example, bifacial sealed GDE assemblies of the various embodiments may form cathode electrodes (sometimes called air electrodes) of a battery, such as a metal-air battery.

A method for making nanoporous nickel composite material comprises: providing a cathode plate and a copper-containing anode plate, electroplating a copper material layer a surface of the cathode plate; laying a carbon nanotube layer on the copper material layer, and forming an overlapped structure of the copper material layer and the carbon nanotube laye; the cathode plate and the overlapped structure are used as a cathode, and a nickel-containing anode plate is used as an anode, plating a nickel material layer on the overlapped structure to form sandwich structure; repeating steps S1 to S3 to obtain a carbon nanotube-reinforced copper-nickel alloy; rolling and annealing the carbon nanotube-reinforced copper-nickel alloy; and etching the carbon nanotube-reinforced copper-nickel alloy to form the nanoporous nickel composite material.

The present invention relates to a catalyst for solid polymer fuel cells in which catalyst particles including platinum and a transition metal M are supported on a carbon powder carrier. The catalyst of the present invention is a catalyst for solid polymer fuel cells in which a molar ratio (Pt/M) of platinum to the transition metal M that form catalyst particles is 2.5 or more, and a ratio (S.sub.COMSA/S.sub.BET) of a platinum specific surface area (S.sub.COMSA) measured by a CO adsorption method to a catalyst specific surface area (S.sub.BET) measured by a BET method is 0.26 or more and 0.32 or less. The catalyst can be produced by preparing an alloy catalyst, then washing the alloy catalyst with a platinum compound solution, and additionally supplying platinum to the surfaces of catalyst particles.

A method of producing an infiltrated solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) layer. The method begins by infiltrating a solution containing a solute into a SOFC layer to produce a primary SOFC layer. The primary SOFC layer is then dried in a heated environment, wherein the heated environment ranges in temperature from about 25° C. to about 100° C. to produce a dry primary SOFC layer. The dry primary SOFC layer is then cooled at a rate less than about 5° C./min to room temperature to produce a cooled primary SOFC layer. The cooled primary SOFC layer is then heated to a temperature greater than 500° C. then quenching to a temperature from about 10° C. to about 30° C. to produce an infiltrated SOFC layer.

Disclosed are an electrode for a membrane-electrode assembly, a method of manufacturing the same and a membrane-electrode assembly using the same. The electrode may include the pores and pore density around a catalyst contained in the electrode may be selectively increased using a thermally decomposable chemical blowing agent, thereby improving mass transfer through the catalyst.

A heat treatment method performed to form a particle structure of a carbon-supported metal catalyst includes preparing the carbon-supported metal catalyst by supporting metals on a support including carbon. The heat treatment method also includes applying heat shock to the carbon-supported metal catalyst. The applying heat shock to the carbon-supported metal catalyst includes raising a temperature of the carbon-supported metal catalyst to a first temperature and lowering the temperature of the carbon-supported metal catalyst to a second temperature. A difference between the first temperature and the second temperature is 500° C. to 1,100° C. The applying heat shock to the carbon-supported metal catalyst is repeated at least once. A carbon-supported metal catalyst is prepared by the heat treatment method.

Disclosed is a biphasic electrically conductive perovskite-based mixed oxide of the structure ABO.sub.3 with A=Ba, and B=Co, comprising additionally 5-45 at %, preferably 15 to 30 at %, particularly preferably 25 at % Co.sub.3O.sub.4 (at % Co based on the total number of Co atoms in the perovskite ABO.sub.3 and 0.5 to 0.3 at %, preferably 1 to 2.5 at %, particularly preferably 2 at % (wherein the at % are referred to the total number of B cations in the perovskite ABO.sub.3) Ti as dopant. Preferably, the mixed oxide has the stoichiometric formula BaCo.sub.1−xTi.sub.xO.sub.3−δ:Co.sub.3O.sub.4 with x=0.005 to 0.03, preferably x=0.01 to 0.025, particularly preferably x=0.02, wherein δ defines the vacancies in the perovskite structure and is in the range of about 0.1 to 0.8, preferably 0.3 to 0.7, particularly preferably about 0.5 to 0.6. Further disclosed are a catalyst and an anode comprising the mixed oxide, the use of the catalyst in alkaline water electrolysis or in metal-air batteries, the use of the mixed oxide for the preparation of an anode for alkaline water electrolysis or metal-air batteries. Further, manufacturing processes for a precursor solution for the mixed oxide and for the inventive anode are disclosed, as well as an amorphous mixed oxide having a Co:Ba ratio of about 2:1 and a TTB (Tetragonal Tungsten-Bronze)-like near structure obtainable by using the mixed oxide according to the invention as catalyst in the oxygen evolution reaction of alkaline water electrolysis, whereby said amorphous product is formed by leaching out Ba.