Electrochemical properties of iridium-carbon nano composite films prepared by MOCVD

Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) is advantageous to control the morphology of deposits by changing the deposition conditions. Thin and dense Pt and Ir electrodes prepared by MOCVD often contain impurity carbon that is formed by thermal decomposition of organic precursor. The carbon can prevent the grain growth of noble metals. This leads the formation of noble metal nanoparticles that may be highly catalytic and reversible as electrodes for solid electrolytes. Ir-C nanocomposite film is found to have highly catalytic characteristics as an electrode for ZrO₂ solid electrolytes.