In situ electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy of oxygen reduction electrocatalysis with high oxygen flux.

An in situ electrochemical X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) cell has been fabricated that enables high oxygen flux to the working electrode by utilizing a thin poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) window. This cell design enables in situ XAS investigations of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at high operating current densities greater than 1 mA in an oxygen-purged environment. When the cell was used to study the ORR for a Pt on carbon electrocatalyst, the data revealed a progressive evolution of the electronic structure of the metal clusters that is both potential-dependent and strongly current-dependent. The trends establish a direct correlation to d-state occupancies that directly tracks the character of the Pt-O bonding present.