Meta-analysis of commercial Pt/C measurements for oxygen reduction reactions via data mining

Abstract

The rotating disk electrode technique is commonly used for screening and characterizing the performance of electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, a reliable performance comparison of different electrocatalysts from different labs remains a challenge because of the inconsistency in the measurement of commercial Pt/C. Commercial Pt/C has been adopted extensively as a reference for evaluating the ORR performance of a new electrocatalyst. However, the reported ORR performances of commercial Pt/C from different labs could be significantly different because of multiple factors. Herein, we conducted a meta-analysis of the ORR performance of commercial Pt/C via data mining of the literature. This revealed the optimal testing conditions for the most repeatable ORR performance, with commercial Pt/C in both acid and alkaline electrolytes; the optimal Pt loading was 20 μg/cm 2 on a 4 mm glassy carbon working electrode. The value of 0.84 ± 0.03 V was suggested as the “Golden reference” of the commercial Pt/C (with Pt 20 wt%) ORR half-wave potential for the performance evaluation of other ORR catalysts in both acid and alkaline electrolytes. The conclusion obtained through the meta-analysis was confirmed by experiments. This study provides general guidance for a reliable measurement of the ORR performance of commercial Pt/C as a reference. Even for the same type of commercial Pt/C with the same Pt loadings, measurements from different labs could lead to different “apparent” activities, as indicated by the half-wave potential ( E 1/2 ). Herein, by conducting a meta-analysis of the ORR performance of commercial Pt/C via data mining from a large amount of literature, we reveal the optimal testing conditions of commercial Pt/C with the most repeatable ORR performance as a reference for the evaluation of other ORR catalysts.