Renewable energy is a field that has been developing different fuels and systems to meet the energy consumption of current society. Approximately 85% of global energy usage is through the use of nonrenewable resources. There are several potential sources of clean energy and ethanol is a strong candidate for further research. Ethanol has a high energy density (6.32 kWh/L) compared to hydrogen (0.00296 kWh/L), is a nontoxic liquid, and is renewable. What makes the commercialization of ethanol fuel cells difficult is ethanol’s slow and incomplete oxidation to CO2. In our research, we have synthesized PtNiCu electrocatalysts and they show interesting results by having some of the lowest onset potentials for the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) reported. Comparing different metal mole ratios, we observed a decrease in the onset potential (0.30-0.36 V vs. RHE) compared to Pt black (0.50 V vs. RHE). From surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) studies, we also gain mechanistic insights of the reaction pathway compared to a pure platinum catalyst (Figure 1). In this presentation, we will discuss our results in the context of developing a better mechanistic understanding of this reaction and working towards what will have higher selectivity in oxidizing ethanol to CO2 at low potentials.

Investigating the role of Ni and Cu in PtNiCu catalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction using in situ electrochemical surface enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS)

2019 Fall National Meeting

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