Direct liquid fuel cells are of interest especially for portable consumer applications since the transport and storage of liquid fuels is more facile compared to gaseous fuels such as hydrogen. Ideally the liquid fuel should be non-volatile, have a high energy density, and lack carbon-carbon bonds so that complete oxidation to CO<sub>2</sub> can more readily be achieved. Dimethyl carbonate (DMC) meets these criteria, plus it is already used for other applications including as a co-solvent in lithium ion batteries, a green reagent or solvent in organic synthesis, and as an oxygenated fuel additive. Additionally, unlike methanol, DMC is exempt from the restrictions placed on volatile organic compounds in the U.S. In this work, the electrochemical oxidation of DMC was investigated on Pt and Pt-Ru based catalysts in aqueous media under acidic and alkaline conditions. Half-cell studies show that DMC electrooxidation is more facile under alkaline conditions at both Pt and Pt-Ru catalysts. Membrane electrode assemblies were fabricated using either an alkaline exchange membrane (AEM) or a proton exchange membrane (PEM) with Pt or Pt-Ru as the anode catalyst and Pt as the cathode catalyst. In both the AEM and PEM fuel cells, the peak power densities attained using DMC as the fuel were comparable to methanol demonstrating the feasibility of a direct DMC fuel cell.<br/>

Electrochemical oxidation of dimethyl carbonate on Pt and Pt-Ru supported catalysts

2019 Fall National Meeting

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