A comparative study of ORR at the Pt electrode in ammonium ion-contaminated H2SO4 and HClO4 solutions

Poisoning of the poly-Pt electrode by low concentration ammonium ion was investigated in H2SO4 and HClO4 solutions and a significant poisoning was observed in H2SO4 solution. An extraordinary recovery of the poisoned electrode was achieved in HClO4 solution by cycling the electrode potential between the onset potentials of the hydrogen and oxygen evolution. The extent of recovery was marked using the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) as a probing reaction. Ammonium ion poisoning of the electrodes in H2SO4 caused a significant contribution of the two-electron reduction of O-2 to hydrogen peroxide, as indicated by the rotating ring-disk voltammetry. The Tafel slopes at the low and high current densities were also affected by the presence of ammonium ion in H2SO4 solution and an increase in the Tafel slope was recognized with increasing the concentration of ammonium ion. However, the Tafel slopes at the low and high current densities were hardly affected by the ammonium ion in HClO4 solution. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.