Increasing the operational temperature of Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells (DEFC) up to 200�C could be an interesting approach in order to oxidize more efficiently the ethanol molecule to carbon dioxide. For this purpose, this study reports the results of operating a DEFC with an alternative membrane material, H3PO4 doped polybenzimidazole (PBI), operating up to 200�C, with three different commercial anode catalysts, Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt3Sn/C. Polarization curves were recorded at different temperatures, monitoring with an online GC the carbon dioxide generated from the complete ethanol oxidation. The presence of Ru and Sn increased the cell current density at any temperature. Contrarily, platinum displayed the highest efficiency for breaking the C-C bond. Thus, the presence of the secondary metal favors the incomplete oxidation of the ethanol molecule to acetaldehyde and acetic acid compared to pure platinum, despite the low performance due to a stronger poisoning effect of the ethanolic residues.

Direct ethanol fuel eell operating on commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt<sub>3</sub>Sn/C up to 200[ordm]C: Effect on the conversion of the ethanol molecule to CO<sub>2</sub>

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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Direct ethanol fuel eell operating on commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt3Sn/C up to 200[ordm]C: Effect on the conversion of the ethanol molecule to CO2

Direct ethanol fuel eell operating on commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C and Pt₃Sn/C up to 200[ordm]C: Effect on the conversion of the ethanol molecule to CO₂