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Effect of Air‐Aging on the Electrochemical Characteristics of TiO x C y Films for Electrocatalysis Applications
Author(s) -
Rüdiger Celine,
ValeroVidal Carlos,
Favaro Marco,
Agnoli Stefano,
Granozzi Gaetano,
KunzeLiebhäuser Julia
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
chemelectrochem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.182
H-Index - 59
ISSN - 2196-0216
DOI - 10.1002/celc.201700912
Subject(s) - passivation , electrocatalyst , dielectric spectroscopy , materials science , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , corrosion , electrochemistry , chemical engineering , electrolyte , polarization (electrochemistry) , electrode , layer (electronics) , nanotechnology , metallurgy , chemistry , engineering
We report on the electrochemical characteristics of pristine and air‐aged carbon‐modified titania electrodes in acidic electrolyte, which find applications as catalyst supports in electrocatalysis. Films with different chemical compositions (including TiO 2 , TiO x , TiO, TiC, C) are synthesized through a carbothermal treatment of compact anodic TiO 2 on Ti substrates at different temperatures, and are analyzed with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their activity towards heterogeneous outer‐sphere electron transfer and their stability against passivation and corrosion under anodic polarization are investigated by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. It is found that a high fraction of TiC in the pristine carburized films in combination with a thin TiO 2 surface layer yields high electron‐transfer kinetics even after aging for 9 months, and a high corrosion and passivation resistance until approximately 0.74V SHE . This finding is essential to the material‘s application as a catalyst support in general.