Direct ethanol fuel cell: Electrochemical performance at 90 degrees C on Pt and PtSn/C electrocatalysts

Carbon-supported Pt-based electrocatalysts were synthesized by Pechini method for the ethanol oxidation (EOR). Physicochemical characterizations were helpful to estimate the diameters of the obtained materials ranging from 2 nm to 5 nm. Main electrochemical experiments were carried out at 90 degrees C i.e. under the working conditions of performing the single 5 cm(2) direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC). Pt(80)Sn(20)/C was the anode catalyst which has given the highest power density of 37 mW cm(-2). Importantly, the IR spectroscopy measurements associated with the qualitative analysis done at the output of the anodic compartment of the fuel cell have shown that ethanol oxidation on Pt(80)Sn(20)/C was mainly a two-electron sustainable process. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Methanol oxidation on carbon-supported platinum-tin electrodes in sulfuric acid

A study is made of the electrooxidation of methanol in sulfuric acid on carbon-supported electrodes containing platinum-tin bimetal catalysts that are prepared by an in situ potentiometric-characterization route. The catalysts are investigated by employing chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption-near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data in conjunction with electrochemical measurements. From the electrochemical data, it is inferred that while an electrode with (3:1) Pt-Sn/C catalyst involves a two-electron rate-limiting step akin to platinum-on-carbon electrodes, it is shifted to a one-electron mechanism on electrodes with (3:2)Pt-Sn/C, (3:3)Pt-Sn/C, and (3:4)Pt-Sn/C catalysts. The study suggests that the tin content in the platinum-tin bimetal catalyst produces: (i) a charge transfer from tin to platinum; (ii) an increase in the coverage of adsorbed methanolic residues with increase in the tin content, as indicated by the shift in rest potential of the electrodes towards the reversible value for oxidation of methanol (0.043 V versus SHE), and (iii) a decrease in the overall content of higher valent platinum sites in the catalyst.

Methanol oxidation on carbon-supported platinum-tin electrodes in sulfuric acid

A study is made of the electrooxidation of methanol in sulfuric acid on carbon-supported electrodes containing platinum-tin bimetal catalysts that are prepared by an in situ potentiometric-characterization route. The catalysts are investigated by employing chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray absorption-near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) data in conjunction with electrochemical measurements. From the electrochemical data, it is inferred that while an electrode with (3:1) Pt-Sn/C catalyst involves a two-electron rate-limiting step akin to platinum-on-carbon electrodes, it is shifted to a one-electron mechanism on electrodes with (3:2)Pt-Sn/C, (3:3)Pt-Sn/C, and (3:4)Pt-Sn/C catalysts. The study suggests that the tin content in the platinum-tin bimetal catalyst produces: (i) a charge transfer from tin to platinum; (ii) an increase in the coverage of adsorbed methanolic residues with increase in the tin content, as indicated by the shift in rest potential of the electrodes towards the reversible value for oxidation of methanol (0.043 V versus SHE), and (iii) a decrease in the overall content of higher valent platinum sites in the catalyst.

异丁烷脱氢制备异丁烯催化剂的研究

Pt-Sn/A1_2O_3负载型双金属催化剂由于其独特的催化性能而被广泛应地用于催化重整工业当中。尽管它对于长链烷烃的脱氢取得较为理想的效果，但用于异丁烷等小分子脱氢却不够理想。Pt-Sn/Al_2O_3负载型双金属催化剂用于异丁烷脱氢，其初活性较高，但对异丁烯的选择性较低，且稳定性较差，易失活。本研究工作就是以Pt-Sn/Al_2O_3负载型双金属催化剂为基础，通过添加碱金属、稀土元素来调变其脱氢性能，一方面提高催化剂的稳定性，另一方面提高对异丁烯的选择性。本文所需要的所有催化剂均是应用传统的共浸法制得。我们首先研究了经碱金属调变的催化剂的脱氢性能。我们发现加入碱金属，尽管催化剂的初活性略有降低，但催化剂对异丁烯的选择性却明显升高，其抗积炭性能也有显著提高。在这三种碱金属当中，K的调变效果最好。我们借助于现代化的测试手段(XRD、XPS、TPR、DTA-TG)对催化剂及其积炭样品进行了表征。结果表明，所有金属组分均以高分散状态存在于载体之上，碱金属钾的加入并没有将离子态的锡还原为金属态。由于K~+是很强的电子施主，它能够减缓活性中心铂的缺电子状态(由于载体效应的存在，铂受载体的拉动效应，它往往以不同程度缺电子状态存在)，从而减缓了活性中心与烃类之间的相互作用，有利于抑制积炭的产生。我们应用DTA-TG研究催化剂的积炭样品发现，碱金属能够抑制了烃类的深度脱氢。碱金属还中和了载体表面的酸性中心，这既抑制了异构化等副反应的发生，提高了对异丁烯的选择性，又抑制了积炭反应的发生。稀土元素对Pt-Sn - K/Al_2O_3催化剂的影响比较复杂。在种稀土元素当中(La、Ce、Pr、Nd、Sm、Eu)，Sm、Ce的调变效果较好，而Eu的调变效果最差。钐的载量不宜太多，以0.30%为宜，太多，一方面有可能将离子态的锡还原成金属态而使催化剂失活，另一方面可能会导致载体晶型有所改变而影响金属组分与载体间的相互作用。TPR结果表明，稀土元素对催化剂的强弱吸附中心的影响是不同的。弱中心上，它作为受电子体，使得铂的缺电子状态加剧，削弱了活性中心与载体之间的相互作用；在强吸附中心上，稀土元素是给电子体，减缓了活性中心铂的缺电子状态，增强了其与载体的相互作用，这两方面共同作用的结果，增强了催化剂的抗积炭能力，提高了催化剂的稳定性。由于铟与锡属于同一周期，且在周期表中处于相临的位置，因此我们考察了铟的不同载量对Pt-In/A1_2O_3催化剂脱氢性能的影响。铟载量跟锡载量相同的情况下，Pt-Sn/Al_2O_3催化剂的活性要比Pt-Sn/Al_2O_3催化剂的活性高，但其对异丁烯的选择性和抗积炭能力却要比Pt-Sn/Al_2O_3催化剂差。另外，随着铟载量的逐渐增加，催化剂的活性逐渐下降，对异丁烯的选择性逐渐升高，异构化逐渐降低。这说明铟在催化剂中起了两方面的作用。首先，它能中和载体表面的酸性中心，再者，对铂活性中心起着一种电子效应。另外我们还考察了碱金属钾对Pt-In/Al_2O_3催化剂的调变作用

Preparation and characterization of PtSn/C anode electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cell

Highly active PtSn/C catalyst was prepared by a polyol method. The catalyst was reduced in H-2/Ar atmosphere at 600 degreesC for 2 h in order to obtain different metallic phase. TEM images show uniform dispersion of spherical metal nanoparticles with average diameters of 1.8 and 3.9 nm for the as-prepared and treated catalysts, respectively. UV-vis spectrophotometry is employed to monitor the preparation process and the results indicate that Pt-Sn complex formed once the precursors of Pt and Sn were mixed together. The structure properties of the samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction. The results show that after reduction, the catalyst tends to form PtSn alloy. TPR experiment results show that Sn exists in multivalent state in the as-prepared sample while only zero-valence Sn was detected in the treated sample, while it could not be excluded that the multivalent tin existed in the treated sample. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique and single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) tests indicate that the as-prepared catalyst possesses superior catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation to the treated sample. The results suggest that Pt and multivalent Sn are the active species for ethanol oxidation. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

三氧杂环己烷的电化学特性

直接氧化一些有机小分子(如甲醇[1~9]和乙醇[10~14]等)的直接氧化燃料电池作为一种对环境友好的能源越来越引起人们的关注.三氧杂环己烷作为一种可再生的能源,可以从地球上存在的大量天然气中得到,来源广泛,价格低廉.三氧杂环己烷反应的基本结构如Scheme 1所示,相对乙醇而言,三氧杂环己烷不存在任何碳碳键,反应更易进行.目前广泛研究的直接氧化燃料电池均采用液体甲醇和S chem e 1 S tru ctu re of tr ioxane乙醇等作燃料,液体燃料的存储运输存在一定的安全隐患,一旦泄漏发生危险,后果非常严重,而三氧杂环己烷作为一种固体,可以有效地避免上述问题的发生,利于安全的储存和运输.Narayanan等[13]研究了三氧杂环己烷在Pt,Pt-Sn和Pt-Ru电极上的电化学行为及其在燃料电池中的应用.本文研究了三氧杂环己烷在不同浓度、不同温度和不同酸度时于光滑铂电极上的电化学行为,初步分析了三氧杂环己烷的反应机理.1实验部分1.1试剂与仪器采用Potentiostat/GalvanostatModel 273A恒电位仪(美国Princeton Applied Research公司),在传统的三...

Surface structure and reaction performances of highly dispersed and supported bimetallic catalysts

Surface structures of Pt-Sn and Pt-Fe bimetallic catalysts have been investigated by means of Mossbauer spectroscopy, Pt-L-III -edge EXAFS and H-2-adsorption. The results showed that the second component, such as Sn or Fe, remained in the oxidative state and dispersed on the gamma-Al2O3 surface after reduction, while Pt was completely reduced to the metallic state and dispersed on either the metal oxide surface or the gamma-Al2O3 surface. By correlating the distribution of Pt species on different surfaces with the reaction and adsorption performances, it is proposed that two kinds of active Pt species existed on the surfaces of both catalysts, named M-1 sites and M-2 sites. M-1 sites are the sites in which Pr directly anchored on the gamma-Al2O3 surface, while M-2 sites are those in which Pt anchored on the metal oxide surface. M-1 sites are favorable for low temperature H-2 adsorption, and responsible for the hydrogenolysis reaction and carbon deposition, while M-2 sites which adsorb more H-2 at higher temperature, are more resistant to the deactivation due to less carbon deposition, and provide major contribution to the dehydrogenation reaction.

PtSnCe/C electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation: DEFC and FTIR ""in-situ"" studies

The ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) was investigated using PtSnCe/C electrocatalysts in different mass ratios (72:23:5, 68:22:10 and 64:21:15) that were prepared by the polymeric precursor method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that the particles ranged in size from approximately 2 to 5 nm. Changes in the net parameters observed for Pt suggest the incorporation of Sn and Ce into the Pt crystalline network with the formation of an alloy between Pt, Sn and/or Ce. Among the PtSnCe catalysts investigated, the 68:22:10 composition showed the highest activity toward ethanol oxidation, and the current time curves obtained in the presence of ethanol in acidic media showed a current density 50% higher than that observed for commercial PtSn/C (E-Tek). During the experiments performed on single direct ethanol fuel cells, the power density for the PtSnCe/C 68:22:10 anode was nearly 40% higher than the one obtained using the commercial catalyst. Data from Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy showed that the observed behavior for ethanol oxidation may be explained in terms of a double mechanism. The presence of Sn and Ce seems to favor CO oxidation, since they produce an oxygen-containing species to oxidize acetaldehyde to acetic acid. Copyright (C) 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estudo das reações de oxidação de metanol e etanol sobre catalisadores bimetálicos suportados preparados por métodos coloidais

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

An optimization study of PtSn/C catalysts applied to direct ethanol fuel cell: Effect of the preparation method on the electrocatalytic activity of the catalysts

The aim of this work was to perform a systematic study of the parameters that can influence the composition, morphology, and catalytic activity of PtSn/C nanoparticles and compare two different methods of nanocatalyst preparation, namely microwave-assisted heating (MW) and thermal decomposition of polymeric precursors (DPP). An investigation of the effects of the reducing and stabilizing agents on the catalytic activity and morphology of Pt75Sn25/C catalysts prepared by microwave-assisted heating was undertaken for optimization purposes. The effect of short-chain alcohols such as ethanol, ethylene glycol, and propylene glycol as reducing agents was evaluated, and the use of sodium acetate and citric acid as stabilizing agents for the MW procedure was examined. Catalysts obtained from propylene glycol displayed higher catalytic activity compared with catalysts prepared in ethylene glycol. Introduction of sodium acetate enhanced the catalytic activity, but this beneficial effect was observed until a critical acetate concentration was reached. Optimization of the MW synthesis allowed for the preparation of highly dispersed catalysts with average sizes lying between 2.0 and 5.0 nm. Comparison of the best catalyst prepared by MW with a catalyst of similar composition prepared by the polymeric precursors method showed that the catalytic activity of the material can be improved when a proper condition for catalyst preparation is achieved. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Investigation of a Pt3Sn/C Electro-Catalyst in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell Operating at Low Temperatures for Portable Applications

A 20% Pt3Sn/C catalyst was prepared by reduction with formic acid and used in a direct ethanol fuel cell at low temperatures. The electro-catalytic activity of this bimetallic catalyst was compared to that of a commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst. The PtSn catalyst showed better results in the investigated temperature range (30 degrees-70 degrees C). Generally, Sn promotes ethanol oxidation by adsorption of OH species at considerably lower potentials compared to Pt, allowing the occurrence of a bifunctional mechanism. The bimetallic catalyst was physico-chemically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses. The presence of SnO2 in the bulk and surface of the catalyst was observed. It appears that SnO2 can enhance the ethanol electro-oxidation activity at low potentials due to the supply of oxygen-containing species for the oxidative removal of CO and CH3CO species adsorbed on adjacent Pt active sites.

PtSnIr/C Anode Electrocatalysts: Promoting Effect in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

This study investigates the promoting effect of PtSnIr/C (1:1:1) electrocatalyst anode, prepared by polymeric precursor method, on the ethanol oxidation reaction in a direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC). All of the materials used were 20% metal m/m on carbon. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed the presence of Pt, PtOH2, PtO2, SnO2 and IrO2 at the electrocatalyst surface, indicating a possible decorated particle structure. X-ray diffractometry (XRD) analysis indicated metallic Pt and Ir as well as the formation of an alloy with Sn. Using the PtSnIr/C electrocatalyst prepared here with two times lower loading of Pt than PtSn/C E-tek electrocatalyst, it was possible to obtain the same maximum power density found for the commercial material. The main reaction product was acetic acid probably due to the presence of oxides, in this point the bifunctional mechanism is predominant, but an electronic effect should not be discarded.

Performance and selectivity of PtxSn/C electro-catalysts for ethanol oxidation prepared by reduction with different formic acid concentrations

Carbon supported Pt-Sn catalysts were prepared by reduction of Pt and Sn precursors with formic acid and characterized in terms of structure, morphology and surface properties. The electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation was studied in a direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) at 70 degrees C and 90 degrees C. Electrochemical and physico-chemical data indicated that a proper balance of Pt and Sn species in the near surface region was necessary to maximize the reaction rate. The best atomic surface composition, in terms of electrochemical performance, was Pt:Sn 65:35 corresponding to a bulk composition 75:25 namely Pt3Sn1/C. The reaction products of ethanol electro-oxidation in single cell and their distribution as a function of the nature of catalyst were determined. Essentially, acetaldehyde and acetic acid were detected as the main reaction products; whereas, a lower content of CO2 was formed. The selectivity toward acetic acid vs. acetaldehyde increased with the increase of the Sn content and decreased by decreasing the concentration of the reducing agent used in the catalyst preparation. According to the recent literature, these results have been interpreted on the basis of ethanol adsorption characteristics and ligand effects occurring for Sn-rich electrocatalysts. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Sviluppo di nuovi sistemi catalitici per la produzione di idrogeno "on-board" mediante deidrogenazione di idrocarburi

La ricerca è collocata nell’ambito del progetto europeo “GREEN AIR” (7FP – Transport) che è finalizzato alla produzione di idrogeno a bordo di aerei mediante deidrogenazione catalitica di cherosene avio. La deidrogenazione di molecole organiche volta alla produzione di idrogeno è una reazione poco studiata; in letteratura sono presenti solo esempi di deidrogenazione di molecole singole, tipicamente a basso peso molecolare, per la produzione di olefine. Già per questi substrati la conduzione della reazione risulta molto complessa, quindi l’impiego di frazioni di combustibili reali rende ancora più problematica le gestione del processo. L’individuazione dei parametri operativi e della corretta formulazione del catalizzatore possono essere definiti accuratamente solo dopo un approfondito studio dei meccanismi di reazione e di disattivazione. Pertanto questo lavoro ha come obiettivo lo studio di questi meccanismi partendo da molecole modello per giungere poi a definire la reattività di miscele complesse. Le problematiche principali che si presentano nella conduzione di questa reazione sono la disattivazione da coke e da zolfo. Quindi è evidente che la comprensione dei meccanismi di reazione, di formazione dei depositi carboniosi e dell’avvelenamento da zolfo è uno stadio fondamentale per delineare quali siano i requisiti necessari alla realizzazione del processo. Il fine ultimo della ricerca è quello di utilizzare le informazioni acquisite dallo studio dei meccanismi coinvolti per arrivare a formulare un catalizzatore capace di soddisfare i requisiti del progetto, sia in termini di produttività di idrogeno sia in termini di tempo di vita, unitamente alla definizione di accorgimenti utili al miglioramento della conduzione della reazione.