[ebressler1]

Would someone be able to explain what is meant by "the oxygen reduction reaction?" I'm specifically interested in the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solutions.  Many people talk about it, but there seem to be so many versions of it, and I'd like to know what the general consensus is. 

I'm trying to do a presentation on a paper using Fe3O4 nanoparticles to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline solutions.  A formula would be extremely helpful.

Thank you in advance!

[Arkcon]

You only have half of the reaction, so its going to be hard to figure it out.  A red-ox reaction (that's shorthand for reduction-oxidation) has something oxidizing something else, while it is itself reduced.  You also have a catalyst, which is by definition, not a reactant (or is it, in this case, and not a catalyst.)  What is reacting with the oxygen, and what is produced, according to your reference?

[ebressler1]

Thanks Arkcon! I had the same questions as you, and that's why I came here to see if anyone had an inside scoop on this. I should have mentioned that I am looking at a paper dealing with new catalysts for hydrogen fuel cells.

Now I've done a bit more reading and I'm piecing things together with my notes from a talk one of my professors recently gave.  It seems like researchers in the field of hydrogen fuel cells generally refer to "the" oxygen reduction reaction as the reduction of oxygen with hydrogen to make water. However, by referring to "the oxygen reduction reaction" in regards to that field you are considering a system of reactions and reaction pathways that includes the reduction of oxygen to water and the reduction of oxygen to hydrogen peroxide, the latter being undesired in most cases.  So the reference I was using assumed that you knew a little about this field and what was meant by "the oxygen reduction reaction."

[Arkcon]

OK..  so the oxygen reduction reaction is some jargon from fuel cell sources, in this case, referencing the reduction of oxygen by hydrogen using Fe3O4 nanoparticles in alkaline solution.  What else is missing?