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A newly developed method is presented which allows the characterization of the electrocatalytic properties of highly dispersed electrocatalysts in a true rotating disk electrode (RDE) configuration by attaching the catalyst powder on a glassy carbon electrode via a thin Nafion film. Complete utilization and high reproducibility of both the electrode preparation and the catalyst loading could be shown via voltammetry and CO stripping voltammetry. Furthermore, RDE mneasurements on the electro-oxidation of hydrogen on Pt/Vulcan showed that the effect of diffusion through the Nafion film can be avoided by proper electrode preparation. Therefore, the electrode kinetics for fuel cell relevant reactions under continuous flow conditions can be measured directly without mathematical modeling.

The combination of a magnesium anode with a sulfur cathode is one of the most promising electrochemical couples because of its advantages of good safety, low cost, and a high theoretical energy density. However, magnesium sulfur batteries are still in a very early stage of research and development, and the discovery of suitable electrolytes is the key challenge for further improvement. Here, a new preparation method for non-nucleophilic electrolyte solutions using a two-step reaction in one-pot is presented, which provides a feasible way to optimize the physiochemical properties of the electrolyte for the application in magnesium sulfur batteries. The fi rst use of modifi ed electrolytes in glymes and binary solvents of glyme and ionic liquid shows benefi cial effects on the performance of magnesium sulfur batteries. New insights into the reaction mechanism of electrochemical conversion between magnesium and sulfur are also investigated.