Direct Methanol Fue! Cells (DMFCs) are attracting a great interest due to the high energy density and ease of operation of methanol and the ability of fue! cells to produce energy directly through electrochemical reactions [1-3]. Nevertheless, the commercialization of DMFCs is limited by sorne technical aspects like crossover of methanol, sluggish methanol oxidation kinetics, the deteriorating catalyst performance and its durability, as well as the high cost ofthe components [3,4]. At present, the most used catalysts are materials based on Pt group metals (PGM) due to its great potential as catalyst for electrooxidation in fuel cells [3], despite its high cost. Therefore, diminishing or avoiding the use of PGM in fuel cells is also one ofthe challenges for their commercialization [3]. The objective of this work is to develop Pt-free catalysts that can be uniformly sprayed onto the surface of a carbon paper gas diffusion !ayer to be used as DMFC anode electrode. For this purpose, materials based on FeCo solid solutions are synthesized by the combustion method using as precursors iron (II) nitrate and cobalt (II) nitrate and urea as fuel to maintain or modify the balance of valences. Nominal composition formulated for the catalyst synthesized are FexCo,_, (x=0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1 ). Powders obtained after combustion are electrochemically characterized for their further application as anode catalysts in DMFCs. Figure 1 shows the cyclic voltametry of synthetized material and no electrocatalytic activity due to methanol oxidation can be observed.
Direct Methanol Fue! Cells (DMFCs) are attracting a great interest due to the high energy density and ease of operation of methanol and the ability of fue! cells to produce energy directly through electrochemical reactions [1-3]. Nevertheless, the commercialization of DMFCs is limited by sorne technical aspects like crossover of methanol, sluggish methanol oxidation kinetics, the deteriorating catalyst performance and its durability, as well as the high cost ofthe components [3,4]. At present, the most used catalysts are materials based on Pt group metals (PGM) due to its great potential as catalyst for electrooxidation in fuel cells [3], despite its high cost. Therefore, diminishing or avoiding the use of PGM in fuel cells is also one ofthe challenges for their commercialization [3]. The objective of this work is to develop Pt-free catalysts that can be uniformly sprayed onto the surface of a carbon paper gas diffusion !ayer to be used as DMFC anode electrode. For this purpose, materials based on FeCo solid solutions are synthesized by the combustion method using as precursors iron (II) nitrate and cobalt (II) nitrate and urea as fuel to maintain or modify the balance of valences. Nominal composition formulated for the catalyst synthesized are FexCo,_, (x=0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1 ). Powders obtained after combustion are electrochemically characterized for their further application as anode catalysts in DMFCs. Figure 1 shows the cyclic voltametry of synthetized material and no electrocatalytic activity due to methanol oxidation can be observed. Read More
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