Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) electrodes have been extensively studied at multiple levels. As the operation of such system is heterogeneous, several strategies have risen to get insights in local current density. Segmented current collecting plates for single cells or local post mortem analysis for large cells and stacks have been the preferred ways so far to study the local evolution of the electrodes during or after aging studies. Following a previous study on the best practices to carry out cyclic voltammetry (CV) on an individual cell at the stack level, this work introduces a novel use of commercial S++® measurement card, already integrated in stacks to measure local current density in nominal operation (≈ 1–3 A cm−2), for the measurement of local catalyst roughness factors during cyclic voltammograms (≈ 10 mA cm−2). The results show that, independently of the connection configuration used, the S++® card gives global CV measurement overlapping with the one of the potentiostat. However, one shall be careful since the local current density distribution appears to be very dependant of the connection configuration. Single cell polarisation did not enable proper local distribution as it suffered from current redistribution within the bipolar plate facing the S++®. The authors thus introduced and validated here the overlap configuration to obtain trustworthy local current measurements by shifting current collection one cell away from the studied cell. Reliable local CV could therefore be measured by polarising the smallest number of cells as possible (3 cells) instead of the whole stack.

The use of electro-oxidation in water treatment process is an inexhaustible pathway to achieving a desirable level of water availability in the future, due to its merits. In this work, operational parameters influencing the electro-oxidation of norfloxacin in water treatment were investigated by applying nickel-based NiTiO3/NiSe2 advanced material. The modulated Ni-based material displayed superior electrochemical properties above its pristine materials. Notably, 6.9 mA peak current, 12.3 Ω charge transfer resistance, and 43.7 mA cm− 2 current density were obtained from cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and linear sweep voltammetry, respectively. This revealed the electrochemical versatility of the NiTiO3/NiSe2 electrode over the pristine materials. Findings from this work showed that the application of moderate current density, coupled with mild stirring of the solution, can prolong the lifespan of the electrode during electro-oxidation. Additionally, the concentration of the analyte can affect charge transport across the electrode-solution interface, thereby impacting the rate of electrogeneration of reactive species. Also, the effect of competing reactions can influence reactive oxygen species generation in the electro-oxidation medium. Considering these influences, the electro-oxidation of 5 mg L− 1 norfloxacin at pH value of 4 and 5 mA cm− 2 operational conditions, achieved 96.4% using the modulated NiTiO3/NiSe2 electrode. Furthermore, the electrode showed remarkable stability at these conditions, suggesting that the interfacial advantage exhibited by the Ni-based electrode, coupled with the application of appropriate operational conditions, can elevate the influence of electro-oxidation in water treatment and environmental sustainability.