The effect of methanol and ethanol cross-over on the performance of PtRu/C-based anode DAFCs

In the present work, the cross-over rates of methanol and ethanol, respectively, through Nafion(R)-115 membranes at different temperatures and different concentrations have been measured and compared. The changes of Nafion(R)-115 membrane porosity in the presence of methanol or ethanol aqueous solutions were also determined by weighing vacuum-dried and alcohol solution-equilibrated membranes. The techniques of anode polarization and adsorption stripping voltarnmetry were applied to compare the electrochemical activity and adsorption ability, respectively. To investigate the consequences of methanol and ethanol permeation from the anode to the cathode on the performance of direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs), single DAFC tests, with methanol or ethanol as the fuel, have been carried out and the corresponding anode and cathode polarizations versus dynamic hydrogen electrode (DHE) were also performed. The effect of alcohol concentration on the performance of PtRu/C anode-based DAFCs was investigated.

Investigation on the influence of methanol on adsorption and leaching of pesticides with soil column liquid chromatography

The effect of methanol of low concentration on adsorption and leaching of atrazine and tebuconazole was studied in this paper. The adsorption coefficients and the retardation factors (R-m) of pesticides on EUROSOIL 3# log-linearly decreased as volumetric fraction of methanol (f(c)) was increased in the binary solvent mixtures of methanol and water. These data are consistent with solvophobic theory formerly outlined for describing the adsorption and transport of hydrophobic organic chemicals from mixed solvents. Nevertheless, the adsorption of these pesticides in soil-water system slightly increased when the soil was pre-washed with methanol in comparison with that pre-washed with water (pure water system). Furthermore, their adsorption coefficients were still higher in binary solvent systems with methanol of very low concentrations, i.e. f(c) < 0.03 for atrazine and f(c) < 0.01 for tebuconazole, than those in pure water system. The adsorption coefficients (logK(w)) of atrazine and tebuconazole predicted by solvophobic theory were 0.5792 and 1.6525, respectively, and their experimental logK(w) were 0.3701 and 1.6275 in pure water system. Obviously, the predicted log K-w of the two pesticides was higher than the experimental log K-w in pure water system. The predicted K-w and the retardation factor (R-w) in pure water system by solvophobic theory are thus possibly inaccurate. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Post-steam-treatment of Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts: An alternative and effective approach for enhancing their catalytic performances of methane dehydroaromatization

Post-steam-treatment is a facile and effective method for improving the catalytic performances of Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts in methane dehydroaromatization under nonoxidative conditions. The treatment can enhance the stability of the catalyst and also give a higher methane conversion and a higher yield of light aromatics, as well as a decrease in the formation rate of carbonaceous deposits. (27)Al, (29)Si, and (1)H multinuclear magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis measurements as well as catalytic reaction evaluations were employed to conduct comparative studies on the properties of the catalysts before and after the post-steam-treatment. The results revealed that the number of free Bronsted acid sites per unit cell decreased, while more Mo species migrated into the HZSM-5 channels for the 6Mo/HZSM-5 catalysts after the post-steam-treatment. In addition, the average pore diameter was also larger for the post-steam-treated catalysts, and this was advantageous for mass transport of the reaction products. However, a severe post-steam-treatment, i.e., with longer treating time, of the 6Mo/HZSM-5 catalyst will lead to the formation of the Al(2)(MoO(4))(3) phases, which is detrimental to the reaction.

Adsorption behaviors of methanol, ethanol, n-butanol, n-hexanol and n-octanol on mica surface studied by atomic force microscopy

The adsorption behavior of methanol, ethanol, n-butanol, n-hexanol and n-octanol on mica surface was investigated by atomic force microscopy. All these alcohols have formed homogeneous films with different characteristics. Upright standing bilayer structure was formed on methanol adsorbed mica surface. For ethanol, bilayer structure and monolayer one were simultaneously formed, while for n-butanol and n-hexanol, rough films were observed. What was formed for n-octanol? Close-packed flat film was observed on n-octanol adsorbed mica substrate, the film was assumed to be a tilted monolayer. The possible adsorption model for each alcohol molecule was proposed according to its adsorption behavior.

Electrooxidation of methanol on carbon nanotubes supported Pt-Fe alloy electrode

The synthesis and characterization of catalysts based on bimetallic materials, Pt-Fe supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) for methanol electrooxidation is reported here. The catalyst was prepared by a spray-cooling process and characterized by TEM, EDS, ICP and XRD. The electrocatalytic properties of the Pt-Fe/MWNTs electrode for methanol oxidation have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It presented higher electrocatalytic activity and stability than a comparative Pt/ MWNTs catalyst. This may be attributed to the addition of Fe which leads to the small average particle size and high utilization of Pt in the Pt-Fe/MWNTs catalyst. The results imply that the Pt Fe/MWNTs composite has good potential applications in fuel cells.

Effect of cations in solution on the oxidation of methanol on the surface of platinum electrode

The effect of metal cations in solution on the oxidation of methanol on the electrode surface of platinum is a neglected aspect to direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this paper, a smooth platinum electrode absorbing metal cations as the working electrode was applied to investigate the methanol oxidation with the cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 1.0 mol L-1 H2SO4. From the analysis of experiment, it is found that the cations, Li+, Ce4+, Mn2+, Ni2+, Cu2+, have some negative effect on the catalytic oxidation of methanol on the surface of platinum. The degree of the effect from different cations was analyzed.

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of PtRu/C catalysts by spray pyrolysis for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol

In this paper, it was reported that the carbon-supported Pt-Ru(Pt-Ru/C) catalyst used as the anodic catalyst in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was synthesized with a two-step spray pyrolysis (SP) method using the Pt and Ru metal salt as the precursors and polyethylene glycol (PEG) with the different molecular weights (Mw= 200,600,and 1000 analytical reagent) as cosolvent. PEG as a cosolvent plays a crucial role in producing PtRu/C catalysts. It was found that the Mw of PEG could affect the electrocatalytic activity of Pt-Ru and the morphology of the Pt-Ru particles in the Pt-Ru/C catalysts prepared with this method. When the Mw of PEG is 600, the Pt-Ru particles in the Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared with this method possess the small average size, narrow size distribution, uniform dispersion, and high electrochemically active specific surface area. The electrocatalytic activity of the Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared with this method using the cosolvent PEG with Mw = 600 for the methanol oxidation is much higher than that of the commercial E-TEK Pt-Ru/C catalyst. Therefore, the two-step SP method is an excellent method for the preparation of the Pt-Ru/C catalyst used in DMFCs.