| Grant number: | 10/16511-6 |
| Support Opportunities: | Regular Research Grants |
| Start date: | May 01, 2011 |
| End date: | April 30, 2013 |
| Field of knowledge: | Engineering - Materials and Metallurgical Engineering |
| Principal Investigator: | Mauro Coelho dos Santos |
| Grantee: | Mauro Coelho dos Santos |
| Host Institution: | Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH). Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC). Santo André , SP, Brazil |
| City of the host institution: | Santo André |
| Associated researchers: | Fernando Carmona Simões ; Marcelo Luiz Calegaro ; Marcelo Marques Tusi ; Melina D'Villa Silva |
Abstract
The aim of this project concerns the development and application of nanostructures such as: binary and ternary alloys, co-deposits, core-shell, nanoparticles with defined polygonal morphology combined with core-shell and carbon nanostructures as supports for application in important technological processes: electrocatalysis of ethanol oxidation reaction and electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction reaction toward energy generation from direct ethanol fuel cells. Regarding nanostructures the proposal is the formation of different nanostructures supported in carbon XC 72 and both carbon nanotubes and carbon nanoribbons: i) co-deposits formed by Nb, Ce, Ir, W e Sn oxides with Pt, Ru and Rh nanoparticles; iii) core-shell being Sn, Co, Cu, Fe and Ni cores and Pt, Au and Pd as shells and iv) nanoparticles of noble or non-noble metals with defined polygonal morphology containing or not shells of noble metals. These materials will be prepared for the following routes: polymeric precursors method, chemical reduction and polyol. After that, they will be characterized using different physical techniques as electronic transmission microscopy, photoelectronic X-ray diffraction and X-ray dispersive energy analysis. The ethanol oxidation reaction will be studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperommetry, polarization curves, ethanol direct fuel cells and in-situ FTIR. The oxygen reduction reaction will be evaluated by steady state polarization curves with a rotating ring-disc electrode and the distribution of electrochemical sites will be observed by a scanning electrochemistry microscope. One expects that new materials with optimized properties can be produced for utilization as anodes and cathodes in direct ethanol fuel cells. The utilization of core-shell structures both alone and together with poligonal structures has the aim of diminishing Pt content in the electrocatalyts, which is a great challenge for nowadays research regarding fuel cells. (AU)
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