Effect of CeO2 Presence on the Electronic Structure and the Activity for Ethanol Oxidation of Carbon Supported Pt

Abstract

Pt/CeO2/C electrocatalysts in different compositions were prepared and their structural characteristics and activities for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media were evaluated. In the presence of CeO2, an increase in the platinum particle size was observed. XANES measurements indicated that the Pt d-band vacancies increased with increasing CeO2 amounts. For the first time, the decrease in electro activity was described to an electronic effect for high CeO2 contents. The dependence of the activity for ethanol oxidation on CeO2 content went to a maximum, due to the counteracting bifunctional and electronic effects of the metal oxide.

Selective Glycerol‐to‐glycerate Electro‐oxidation on Cerium‐modified Pt/C Nanocatalyst in an Alkaline Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell: Cogeneration of Energy and Value‐added Products

“…Since the current density has been increased 3.5 times without any shift in the peak potential, it can be stated that the glycerol oxidation reaction is promoted by the surface structuring effect due to the presence of CeO 2 . However, given the proximity of the Pt and CeO 2 sites, the presence of adsorbed oxygenated species at low potentials, provided by CeO 2 , could contribute to a better activity of PtCeO 2 /C through bifunctional mechanism, [2,25,27,[42][43][44] as represented in Eq. 1.…”

“…Together, these characteristics improve charge transfer and adsorption of specific intermediates during electrochemical reactions. [23][24][25] Modifying Pt catalysts with Ce has been shown to improve the electrocatalytic activity of materials for the electro-oxidation of alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, both in acidic and alkaline media. [25][26][27][28][29][30] This investigation aims to study the electrochemical valorization of glycerol in an Alkaline Direct Glycerol Fuel Cell operating in batch mode at room temperature, to co-generate clean electrical energy and value-added electro-oxidation products by using Ce-modified Pt-based electrocatalysts with low Pt loading.…”

“…[23][24][25] Modifying Pt catalysts with Ce has been shown to improve the electrocatalytic activity of materials for the electro-oxidation of alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, both in acidic and alkaline media. [25][26][27][28][29][30] This investigation aims to study the electrochemical valorization of glycerol in an Alkaline Direct Glycerol Fuel Cell operating in batch mode at room temperature, to co-generate clean electrical energy and value-added electro-oxidation products by using Ce-modified Pt-based electrocatalysts with low Pt loading. [31] The electrocatalysts were synthesized by the Bromide Anion Exchange (BAE) method, while the main compounds issued from the anodic glycerol conversion were identified by spectroscopic (in situ FTIR) and spectrometric (LC-MS) techniques.…”

“…Ce is stable in alkaline environment and has abundant oxygen vacancy, high oxygen storage capacity, high oxygen mobility, conductivity, and high surface area, not to mention that transition between Ce III /Ce IV redox pair is easy. Together, these characteristics improve charge transfer and adsorption of specific intermediates during electrochemical reactions [23–25] . Modifying Pt catalysts with Ce has been shown to improve the electrocatalytic activity of materials for the electro‐oxidation of alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, both in acidic and alkaline media [25–30] …”

“…Together, these characteristics improve charge transfer and adsorption of specific intermediates during electrochemical reactions [23–25] . Modifying Pt catalysts with Ce has been shown to improve the electrocatalytic activity of materials for the electro‐oxidation of alcohols such as methanol and ethanol, both in acidic and alkaline media [25–30] …”