3D Pt nanoflowers, which are composed of numerous single‐crystal nanowires, are successfully synthesized by a facile chemical procedure, at room temperature, without surfactant or template. The Pt nanoflowers adhere to carbon paper, exhibiting an enlarged electroactive surface area comparable to that of a commercial Pt/C electrode.

In this study, the performance of a polyaniline (PANI) based supercapacitor where electroactive PANI films were prepared on carbon paper electrodes from a nonaqueous solution with an organic acid (CF 3 COOH) as the proton source was investigated. The use of nonaqueous media as electrolyte led to an increase of the electroactivity window from 0.75 V in aqueous media up to 1.0 V. Low frequency capacitance, evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, of about 150 F/g is reported. Scanning electron microscopy indicated a highly porous material for deposited charges greater than 1 C/cm 2 . Constant current charge/discharge cycling of a symmetric supercapacitor based on PANI in nonaqueous medium was performed in a two-electrode cell configuration and a loss of about 60% of the discharge capacity was demonstrated after 1000 cycles. Tetramethylammonium methanesulfonate (Me 4 NCF 3 SO 3 ) was also used instead of tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (Et 4 NBF 4 ) as supporting electrolyte in acetonitrile for the charge/discharge testing of the PANI-PANI capacitor. Energy and power densities of approximately 3.5 Wh/kg and 1300 W/kg, respectively, were developed by this supercapacitor for a cell voltage of 1 V and a discharge time of 20 s. On the other hand, an asymmetrical supercapacitor with polypyrrole and polyaniline used as positive and negative electrodes, respectively, displayed slightly improved performance. Indeed, an energy density of 5 Wh/kg and a power density of 1200 W/kg were reported for discharge time of about 20 s with 1 M Me 4 NCF 3 SO 3 /acetonitrile as electrolyte.

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Fe-based catalysts for O 2 reduction have been prepared on four carbon supports ͑Vulcan, Black Pearl, Norit, and a developmental carbon, RC2, from Sid Richardson Carbon Corp.͒. Four preparation procedures have been used with each carbon support and the catalytic activities for the reduction of oxygen in H 2 SO 4 , pH 1, and in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell tests are compared for all the catalysts, which are nominally loaded with 0.2 wt % Fe, using iron II acetate as Fe precursor. The catalytic activity of these Fe-based catalysts greatly depends upon the chosen carbon support and also upon the preparation procedure used. The results are rationalized in terms of N content at the surface of the catalysts; the larger the N content, the better the catalytic activity. The best catalysts are obtained after refluxing either RC2 or Norit in HNO 3 before adsorbing iron acetate on the oxidized carbon supports and heat-treating the resulting materials at 900°C in an atmosphere containing NH 3 . The surface nitrogen content of these catalysts, measured by XPS, is 2.5 and 4.1 atom %, respectively. For the Fe-based catalyst prepared on Norit and tested in fuel cell, the mass activity at low current regime, expressed in A/mg Fe, is only slightly lower than the A/mg Pt recorded for a state-ofthe-art, Pt-based membrane electrode assembly.Polymer electrolyte membrane ͑PEM͒ fuel cells are efficient and nonpolluting electrical power generators based on two electrochemical reactions: the oxidation of hydrogen and the reduction of oxygen. 1 As PEM fuel cells operate at low temperature ͑80°C͒, they require catalysts to generate useful currents. However, only Pt and its alloys have been used to date in full-size applications, because non-noble metals corrode in the acidic environment (pH ϳ 1) of the fuel cell membrane. Pt remains, however, an expensive metal of low abundance and its cost is a strong driver toward reducing precious metal loading or even replacing Pt-based catalysts in PEM stack systems with catalysts based on non-noble metals. The latter alternative might be possible at the cathode, using Fe or Co-based catalysts, provided that the non-noble metal-based catalysts display activity and stability approaching that of Pt. To the present date, only N 4 -metal macrocycles have been of interest in this respect.

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