Electrochemical promotion of propane oxidation over Pd, Ir, and Ru catalyst-electrodes deposited on YSZ

The effect of electrochemical promotion of catalysis was investigated for the oxidation of propane using Pd, Ir, and Ru catalyst-electrodes sputter-deposited on YSZ disks in the temperature range of 250-450 A degrees C. Electrophobic type behavior was observed, i.e., the catalytic reaction rate was found to increase with catalyst potential. The observed rate changes under polarization were strongly non-Faradaic and exceeded under anodic potential application the electrocatalytic rate of O2- supply to the catalyst surface, I/2F, by up to a factor of 250 for Pd, 125 for Ir, and 15 for Ru catalyst-electrodes.