Effects of carbon on oxygen reduction and evolution reactions of gas-diffusion air electrodes based on perovskite-type oxides

•Electrocatalytic activities of some perovskite oxides are studied.•Gas-diffusion type electrodes are employed for electrochemical measurements.•All perovskite oxides examined show poor oxygen reduction activity without carbon.•The results support the peroxide pathway of oxygen reduction mechanism.•Oxygen evolution activity of electrodes depends on the perovskite species.

Electrochemical properties of three perovskite oxides with different B-site elements, LaMnO3, La0.6Sr0.4FeO3 and LaNiO3, are examined with and without carbon using gas-diffusion electrodes, in comparison with our previous results on La0.5Sr0.5CoO3. Cyclic voltammetry studies reveal very low oxygen reduction current density of carbon-free perovskite oxides, indicating their poor catalytic activity on oxygen reduction reactions. By mixing carbon with perovskite oxides, the oxygen reduction current density is increased by about two orders. The results are consistent with the peroxide pathway mechanism in which the perovskite oxide is highly active on either electrochemical reduction or chemical decomposition. Electrochemical properties of a three-layered gas diffusion electrode demonstrate the peroxide pathway mechanism works even the perovskite oxide and the carbon exist in separate layers. Oxygen evolution reactions are prominently dependent on the oxide species and also on an addition of carbon. The electrode based on carbon-free LaNiO3 or La0.5Sr0.5CoO3 show moderate oxygen evolution activity, and the activity is further enhanced by an addition of carbon, while LaMnO3 and La0.6Sr0.4FeO3 show poor activity even with an addition of carbon.