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Direct Alcohol Electro-oxidation in an Intermediate Temperature Fuel Cell

2008; Institute of Physics; Volume: 16; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1149/1.2981968

2151-2051

Junichiro Otomo, Satoru Nishida, Hiroyuki Kato, Hidetoshi Nagamoto, Yoshito Oshima,

Electrochemical Analysis and Applications

Anodic reactions in a direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC) at intermediate temperature (250 oC) were investigated from the standpoint of achieving high performance. In order to evaluate the temperature effect on the electro-oxidation of small alcohols in the intermediate temperature region, a kinetic study on the electro-oxidation of methanol and ethanol on Pt/C was conducted using a single cell fabricated with CsH2PO4 proton conducting solid electrolyte. At 250 oC, the current density of ethanol electro-oxidation is comparable to that of methanol electro-oxidation in a low potential region (< 400 mV vs. RHE). In addition, the analysis of reaction products suggests that C-C bond cleavage in ethanol electro-oxidation can proceed at the intermediate temperature. Through the electrochemical measurements, characteristic features in the alcohol electro-oxidation at the intermediate temperature were discussed.