Low-Loaded Pt Nanoparticles Supported on Electrochemically Exfoliated Graphene as a Sustainable Catalyst for Electrochemical Ethanol Oxidation

Securing ever-increasing energy demands while reducing resilience on fossil fuels is a major task of modern society. Fuel cells are devices in which the chemical energy of various fuels can be converted into clean electricity. Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) are increasingly popular for their eco-f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sustainability 2024-09, Vol.16 (18), p.8189
Main Authors: Srejić, Irina, Maksić, Aleksandar, Novaković, Mirjana, Potočnik, Jelena, Rakočević, Lazar, Živković, Sanja, Smiljanić, Milutin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Carbon
Catalysts
Chemical properties
Composition
Electrodes
Energy
Environmental aspects
Ethanol
Fossil fuels
Fourier transforms
Fuel cells
Graphene
Graphite
Methods
Microscopy
Nanoparticles
Oxidation
Oxidation-reduction reaction
Power supply
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Summary:Securing ever-increasing energy demands while reducing resilience on fossil fuels is a major task of modern society. Fuel cells are devices in which the chemical energy of various fuels can be converted into clean electricity. Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) are increasingly popular for their eco-friendliness and significantly easier liquid fuel manipulation compared to hydrogen-fed fuel cells. Carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles are considered reference catalysts for fuel oxidation in DEFCs. Several challenges hinder DEFC commercialization: high Pt-loading, Pt poisoning by CO intermediates, and the instability of the Pt and carbon supports. This work demonstrates an efficient electrocatalyst for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) composed of Pt nanoparticles supported on electrochemically exfoliated graphene (Pt/el-rGO). Graphene was obtained through anodic electrochemical exfoliation using graphitic tape as the anode, while Pt nanoparticles were synthesized using chemical reduction with formic acid. As-obtained Pt/el-rGO with only 7.5 wt.% Pt was characterized using TEM, SEM, and XPS. Pt/el-rGO exhibited notably higher EOR catalytic activity in an alkaline electrolyte than the Pt/C benchmark. This enhancement can be linked with the functional groups present on the graphene support, which facilitate ethanol dehydrogenation as the first step in the EOR mechanism and thus enhance reaction kinetics on Pt-active sites.
ISSN:2071-1050
2071-1050
DOI:10.3390/su16188189