Accelerating Oxygen-Reduction Catalysts through Preventing Poisoning with Non-Reactive Species by Using Hydrophobic Ionic Liquids

Developing cost-effective electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a prerequisite for broad market penetration of low-temperature fuel cells. A major barrier stems from the poisoning of surface sites by nonreactive oxygenated species and the sluggish ORR kinetics on the Pt catalysts. Herein we report a facile approach to accelerating ORR kinetics by using a hydrophobic ionic liquid (IL), which protects Pt sites from surface oxidation, making the IL-modified Pt intrinsically more active than its unmodified counterpart. The mass activity of the catalyst is increased by three times to 1.01Amg(Pt)(-1)@0.9V, representing a new record for pure Pt catalysts. The enhanced performance of the IL-modified catalyst can be stabilized after 30000 cycles. We anticipate these results will form the basis for an unprecedented perspective in the development of high-performing electrocatalysts for fuel-cell applications.