Highly active, robust and versatile multifunctional, fully non-noble metals based electro-catalyst compositions and methods of making for energy conversion and storage

A method for preparing a noble metal-free electro-catalyst for an acidic electrolyte in a proton exchange membrane-based system, comprising:

• combining a non-noble metal oxide precursor with a precipitation or reaction agent to form a non-noble metal oxide nano-material;
• separating the nano-material;
• drying the nano-material;
• and
• forming a noble metal-free oxide nano-material of the general formula 1:
• (axby)Oz (I)
• wherein the a is titanium, vanadium, iron, chromium, tantalum, tin, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum, yttrium, scandium, copper, zinc, cobalt, nickel, lanthanum, cerium, neodymium, erbium, gadolinium, ytterbium and mixtures thereof, b is Mn, O is oxygen, x and y are each a number greater than 0 and less than or equal to 2, x and y being the same or different, and z is a number that is greater than 0 and less than or equal to 4,
• wherein the noble metal-free oxide nano-material is in a form selected from the group consisting of nano-particle, nanocrystalline thin film, nanorod, nanoshell, nanoflake, nanotube, nanoplate, nanosphere, nanowhisker, and combinations thereof, and
• wherein the proton exchange membrane-based system is an oxygen evolution reaction in an acidic electrolyte proton exchange membrane-based water electrolyzer, or an oxygen reduction reaction in an acidic electrolyte proton exchange membrane-based fuel cell.