A comprehensive and critical review on recent progress in anode catalyst for methanol oxidation reaction

Abstract

The synthesis of anode electrocatalyst with high activity and durability for methanol oxidation reaction has been one of the main focuses of researchers in recent years. Several works are reviewed in this paper to summarize and compare the performance of electrocatalysts comprising of noble and non-noble metals. The effect of manipulating catalysts by introducing nanostructured morphology, metal alloys, support materials, acidic or basic electrolyte, and synthesis methods are also examined. The paper finally concludes with details of challenges that are generally faced in making direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) a reliable source of energy for future prospects, and the approach to be taken to reduce the complexity in synthesizing new generations of anode electrocatalysts.

Hexagonal PtBi Intermetallic Inlaid with Sub‐Monolayer Pb Oxyhydroxide Boosts Methanol Oxidation

“…[ 32 ] Figure 3c,d shows that the electrocatalytic activities of the catalysts are significantly enhanced toward MOR at higher temperatures, which originate from the promotion of reaction kinetics and alleviation of CO poisoning at elevated temperatures. [ 32,54,55 ] Especially, the PtBi@6.7%Pb nanoplates exhibit a record‐high mass activity of 51.07 A mg –1 Pt at 60 °C (Figure 3e, Table S1, Supporting Information), which is 3.2 times higher than that of Pt/C under the same conditions. As shown by the chronoamperometry curves measured at −0.3 V versus SCE at 60 °C (Figure 3f), the current density of PtBi@6.7%Pb nanoplates after 20000 s retains 60.9% of the initial value, which is much higher than that of Pt/C (29.4%), indicating the excellent durability of PtBi@6.7%Pb nanoplates.…”

Foam Synthesis of Nickel/Nickel (II) Hydroxide Nanoflakes Using Double Templates of Surfactant Liquid Crystal and Hydrogen Bubbles: A High-Performance Catalyst for Methanol Electrooxidation in Alkaline Solution

“…Methanol is regarded as an attractive fuel to feed direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) because of the advantages of high energy density, reduced CO 2 emission, low operating temperature, and ease of storage and transport [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Nevertheless, the DMFC suffers from several challenges that limit its performance in commercial markets due to the high price of platinum catalyst and the slow kinetics of the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) as a result of catalyst surface poisoning [ 1 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ].…”

Recent developments of nanocarbon based supports for PEMFCs electrocatalysts

“…MOR usually undergoes the adsorption dehydrogenation process of CH3OH first and then is oxidized to CO2, which is a typical 6e -reaction mechanism (Eq. (4)) [8]. However, it must be noted that the dehydrogenation of CH3OH during the MOR reaction produces CO intermediates.…”