Study of electrochemical stability and physical characteristics of ball milled tantalum carbide as a support for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts

Tantalum carbide (TaC) is investigated as a potential support for oxygen evolution reaction electrocatalysts. It is ball milled with zirconia balls for 7 and 14 days. The particle size and surface area of the ball milled TaC are analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen physisorption methods, respectively. After 14 days of ball milling, the TaC shows smaller particle size and larger surface area compared to after 7 days of ball milling and unmilled TaC. The long-term electrochemical stability of the ball milled TaC is evaluated under oxygen evolution reaction conditions using cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The ball milled support at a fixed voltage of 1.6 V is shown to be stable up to 5000 cycles. Chronoamperometric measurement also shows the ball milled TaC remains stable over the 70 h of the test.