The large majority of electrocatalysts at both anodes and cathodes of Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells (DEFCs) running with cation-exchange membranes contain platinum-based materials. The diffusion of the current DEFC technology is however hampered by the inability of platinum and its alloys to bring about efficiently the oxidation of ethanol. Nanostructured palladium is emerging as an alternative to platinum for manufacturing anodes for DEFCs operating in alkaline media where the utilization of non-noble metal electrocatalysts at the cathode is a well-established achievement. In this lecture are analyzed and commented various different methods to synthesize Pd electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation. Relationships between particle size/structure and electrocatalytic activity are also discussed.

Highly efficient Pd-based anode electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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