Vrednotenje elektrokatalitske aktivnosti v sistemih z rotirajočo disk elektrodo, plinsko difuzijsko elektrodo in v elektrolizerjih/gorivnih celicah

The growing urgency to transition toward sustainable energy sources has intensified the focus on electrocatalysts used in hydrogen production and fuel cells. This thesis investigates the electrocatalytic activity of nickel- and platinum-based catalysts using three electrochemical configurations: rotating disk electrode (RDE), gas diffusion electrode (GDE), and fuel cell setups. The study systematically analyses catalyst performance, highlighting the influence of testing environment, protocol and various parameters on observed activity. Special attention is given to quantifying discrepancies arising from mass transport limitations, IR drop and measurement protocols. Results demonstrate that both RDE and GDE setups can be used for electrocatalytic activity evaluation and disprove myths about GDE being inappropriate for specific activity determination. Experiments also show that the electrolyser setup has the potential to be used for catalyst evaluation, provided an appropriate reference electrode can be built into the system. The findings underscore the importance of setup-independent metrics such as ECSA-normalised current (specific activity) in enabling accurate performance comparisons and in guiding the development of scalable electrocatalytic systems.