Multifunctional Ir–Ru alloy catalysts for reversal-tolerant anodes of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

Abstract To address the problem of fuel starvation in fuel-cell electric vehicles, which causes cell voltage reversal and results in cell failure when repeated continuously, we developed a reversal-tolerant anode (RTA) to promote water oxidation in preference to carbon corrosion. Graphitized carbon-supported Ir–Ru alloys with different compositions are employed as RTA catalysts in an acidic polyol solution and are shown to exhibit composition-dependent average crystallite sizes of