Electrocatalysis of the ethanol electrooxidation on platinum monolayers deposited on core-shell nanoparticles

• Grant number: 08/05156-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: October 01, 2008
• End date: September 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Physical-Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Henrique Barros de Lima
• Grantee: Fabio Henrique Barros de Lima
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química de São Carlos (IQSC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This work aims at studying the ethanol oxidation electrocatalysis. This reaction, that takes place at the anode of direct ethanol fuel cells, will be investigated on electrocatalysts formed by Pt monolayers. The electrocatalysis of the total oxidation of the ethanol to CO2 involves the deshydrogenation step, the C-C bond breaking, and the oxidation of the adsorbed CO, which is a product of the dissociative adsorption of ethanol. Although platinum shows the best electrocatalytic activity, with high dehydrogenation rates, this metal still presents low kinetics for the C-C bond activation, and for the CO oxidation. So, the development of Pt-based electrocatalysts are important for obtaining more active and more efficient materials in order to reach reasonable performance for practical applications. In this work, with aiming to increase the electrocatalytic activity by changing the Pt electronic structure, and to increase the mass-activity, the electrocatalysts will be formed by pure and mixed monolayers deposited on the surfaces of bulk noble metal, and on carbon-supported nanoestructured substrates. The study will be focused on trying to elucidate the trends that control the catalytic properties and the reactions pathways followed on the different materials. The objective is to elucidate the mechanism and kinetics of the electrochemical reaction and correlate them to the electronic and structural features of the different electrocatalysts. (AU)

Scientific publications

(4)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

NAGAO, RAPHAEL; CANTANE, DANIEL A.; LIMA, FABIO H. B.; VARELA, HAMILTON. Influence of Anion Adsorption on the Parallel Reaction Pathways in the Oscillatory Electro-oxidation of Methanol. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, v. 117, n. 29, p. 15098-15105, JUL 25 2013. (08/05156-0, 09/07629-6, 09/11073-3, 09/00153-6)

NAGAO, RAPHAEL; CANTANE, DANIEL A.; LIMA, FABIO H. B.; VARELA, HAMILTON. The dual pathway in action: decoupling parallel routes for CO2 production during the oscillatory electro-oxidation of methanol. Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, v. 14, n. 23, p. 8294-8298, 2012. (08/05156-0, 09/07629-6, 09/11073-3, 09/00153-6)

QUEIROZ, A. C.; SILVA, W. O.; RODRIGUES, I. A.; LIMA, F. H. B.. Identification of bimetallic electrocatalysts for ethanol and acetaldehyde oxidation: Probing C-2-pathway and activity for hydrogen oxidation for indirect hydrogen fuel cells. APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL, v. 160, p. 423-435, NOV 2014. (08/05156-0, 09/07629-6, 11/50727-9, 13/00197-9)

CANTANE, D. A.; AMBROSIO, W. F.; CHATENET, M.; LIMA, F. H. B.. Electro-oxidation of ethanol on Pt/C, Rh/C, and Pt/Rh/C-based electrocatalysts investigated by on-line DEMS. JOURNAL OF ELECTROANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY, v. 681, p. 56-65, AUG 1 2012. (08/05156-0, 09/11073-3, 09/05545-0)