A Pt3Sn/C Electrocatalyst used as the cathode and anode in a single direct ethanol fuel cell

Abstract

Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have received attention as the next alternative power source because of their high efficiency. However, many problems still need to be solved, such as finding a more effective catalyst than Pt for the oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) [1]. For the ethanol oxidation reaction, one of the best binary electrocatalysts described in the literature is the intermetallic alloy Pt3Sn [2]. This is because the electronic effect [3]. A problem that occurs in the cathode of DEFCs is the cross-over effect, and it has serious negative consequences for cell performance by reducing its coulombic and voltage efficiencies [4]. In this work it was performed a study showing the use of a Pt3Sn/C alloy produced by the polymeric precursor method (PPM) and utilized as both the cathode and anode of a DEFC. To investigate the tolerance to ethanol crossover, we made a study of activity and kinetics of the ORR using a rotating disk electrode. A comparison of the polarization curves for ORR on the electrocatalysts in 0.5 M H2SO4 with O2 saturation with and without 0.1 mol L-1 ethanol obtained demonstrated that in the presence of ethanol there is a decrease in the mass current densities related to ORR. For Pt3Sn/C PPM, the mass current density for ORR diminished with the addition of ethanol (about 9 %) and using Pt/C, this value was 13 % smaller than that using the same electrocatalyst without ethanol. These results can be explained since the strength of adsorption of both CO [3] and O2 [5] is reduced in Pt3Sn alloy. The experiments using a DEFC performed were carried out with and without oxygen pressurization in order to observe the performance of the Pt3Sn/C as a cathode and anode compared to Pt3Sn/C as an anode and Pt/C Etek as a cathode. The polarization and power density curves in a direct ethanol fuel cell without pressurizing the cathode demonstrated the superiority of the electrocatalyst Pt3Sn/C MPP compared to the catalysts Pt/C E-Tek as cathodes, with a full power density about 20 % higher than the one using Pt/C E-tek. This could be explained by the fact that the ORR reaction is less affected by the presence of ethanol (crossover), which indicates that the Pt3Sn/C electrocatalyst is not only good for the ethanol oxidation reaction [5], but also for the ORR with and without ethanol in the electrolyte. When the cathode was output pressurized to reduce the crossover, the performance of the Pt/C and Pt3Sn/C catalysts were quite similar.