Nanostructured platinum-free electrocatalysts in alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells: catalyst design, principles and applications

Ozoemena, Kenneth I.

doi:10.1039/c6ra15057h

Cited by 176 publications

(107 citation statements)

References 229 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

102

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This is mainly due to the fact that the mass energy density of low molecular weight alcohols is comparable to that of gasoline (5–8 kWh kg −1 vs . 12 kWh kg −1 ) . Furthermore, liquid fuels are easier to transport, handle and store.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nickel and nickel‐based nanomaterials are an attractive choice to replace noble metals as electrocatalysts in alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells (ADAFCs) owing to their lower cost and suitable electrocatalytic activity. Among the different synthetic methods available for the production of nanostructured materials, galvanostatic electrodeposition offers a fast and simple means of fabricating active electrodes. Therefore, thin‐layers of nickel were electrodeposited onto polycrystalline gold electrodes using constant current pulses from an electrolyte containing 50 mM NiSO4. Combined effects of current density pulse and the presence of sulfate or chloride anions in the supporting electrolyte on the electrocatalytic activity of the deposited nickel nanostructures were studied. The surface concentration of Ni(OH)2 in alkaline medium, evaluated through cyclic voltammetry in 0.5M methanol + 1M KOH, was used as a performance parameter together with the electrocatalytic intensity, EI, defined as the sum of forward and reverse currents densities in methanol electro‐oxidation. It was found that highest electrocatalytic activities were obtained when using current density pulses close to 4.0 × 10−3A cm−2 in the presence of sulfates, which leads to a strong correlation between the electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of methanol and the surface concentration of Ni(OH)2, displaying better properties than their chloride counterparts.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…[35] Apart from the classicala pproaches of increasing Pt catalytic performance for ethanol oxidation through particle size tailoring, particles hape and structure control,a nd alloying with oxophilic metals to form binary or ternary materials, [5,23,29,30,32,36,37] there is increasing interesti ns ynthesizingp latinum-based nanocomposites to make use of the synergistic effects between different domains or to find suitable alternatives to achieve highly efficient oxidation of ethanol. [38] Cai et al also performed ad etailed review on the electro-oxidation of ethanol on Pt-and Pd-based catalysts. However,t hese reviews are often limited in the number of catalytic materials considered or are dominated by as pecific metal catalyst.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanocatalysts for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The use of ethanol as a fuel in direct alcohol fuel cells depends not only on its ease of production from renewable sources, but also on overcoming the challenges of storage and transportation. In an ethanol‐based fuel cell, highly active electrocatalysts are required to break the C−C bond in ethanol for its complete oxidation at lower overpotentials, with the aim of increasing the cell performance, ethanol conversion rates, and fuel efficiency. In recent decades, the development of wet‐chemistry methods has stimulated research into catalyst design, reactivity tailoring, and mechanistic investigations, and thus, created great opportunities to achieve efficient oxidation of ethanol. In this Minireview, the nanomaterials tested as electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction in acid or alkaline environments are summarized. The focus is mainly on nanomaterials synthesized by using wet‐chemistry methods, with particular attention on the relationship between the chemical and physical characteristics of the catalysts, for example, catalyst composition, morphology, structure, degree of alloying, presence of oxides or supports, and their activity for ethanol electro‐oxidation. As potential alternatives to noble metals, non‐noble‐metal catalysts for ethanol oxidation are also briefly reviewed. Insights into further enhancing the catalytic performance through the design of efficient electrocatalysts are also provided.

show abstract

“…Consequently, many research efforts have been geared towards the formulation and testing of nanomaterials with a view to obtaining improved and efficient anode electrocatalysts for direct Gly fuel cells. Studies show that the electrocatalytic activity for alcohol oxidation reaction (AOR) is much higher in alkaline than in acidic media …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Promotional Effects of Nanodiamond‐Derived Onion‐Like Carbons on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Pd‐MnO₂ for the Oxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Medium

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The potential of onion‐like carbon (OLC) as an efficient alternative carbon support for palladium‐decorated manganese dioxide (Pd‐MnO2) catalyst for the electro‐oxidation of glycerol in alkaline medium is reported. Pd‐MnO2/OLC and Pd‐MnO2/C (where C denotes activated carbon or Vulcan carbon XC‐72) catalysts and their corresponding reference monometallic catalysts (Pd/OLC and Pd/C) are synthesized by a microwave‐assisted solvothermal procedure. Electrochemical measurements clearly prove that OLC, contrary to the state‐of‐the‐art Vulcan carbon XC‐72, is able to promote the electrocatalytic performance of Pd and Pd‐MnO2 towards the oxidation of glycerol in alkaline medium (in terms of decreased onset potential, large current density, and fast electron transport). Incredibly, the current density of the OLC‐based system is more than 150 % greater than their corresponding activated carbon‐based counterparts. These highly insightful results of Pd‐based catalyst are correlated with the synergistic effects of the ternary nanohybrid materials promoted by the unique intrinsic physico‐chemical properties of OLC.

show abstract

Nanostructured platinum-free electrocatalysts in alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells: catalyst design, principles and applications

Abstract: A review of the fundamental principles that allow for the intelligent design and synthesis of non-precious metal nanostructured electrocatalysts for ADAFCs.

Cited by 176 publications

References 229 publications

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

Nanocatalysts for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol

Promotional Effects of Nanodiamond‐Derived Onion‐Like Carbons on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Pd‐MnO₂ for the Oxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Medium

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Nanostructured platinum-free electrocatalysts in alkaline direct alcohol fuel cells: catalyst design, principles and applications

Abstract: A review of the fundamental principles that allow for the intelligent design and synthesis of non-precious metal nanostructured electrocatalysts for ADAFCs.

Cited by 176 publications

References 229 publications

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

Electrocatalytic Activity of Galvanostatically Deposited Ni Thin Films for Methanol Electrooxidation

Nanocatalysts for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Ethanol

Promotional Effects of Nanodiamond‐Derived Onion‐Like Carbons on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Pd‐MnO2 for the Oxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Medium

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Promotional Effects of Nanodiamond‐Derived Onion‐Like Carbons on the Electrocatalytic Properties of Pd‐MnO₂ for the Oxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Medium