Research on UO₂ modification of a direct ethanol fuel cell Pt/C catalyst

Abstract

The Pt–xUO2/C catalyst modified by UO2 in DEFC shows better catalytic activity, durability and resistance to CO poisoning ability than the anode Pt/C catalyst.

Formation of a PVP-protected C/UO2/Pt catalyst in a direct ethanol fuel cell

“…Weigh 5 g of UO 2 (NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O and dissolve it into 25 mL of ultrapure water, add 3 mL of N 2 H 4 ·H 2 O into 25 mL of ultrapure water, pour the two sets of solutions into 100 mL of PTFE liner in turn, stir well and then put the liner into the reaction kettle and heat in the oven at 200 °C for 48 h. After the reaction kettle is cooled down, wash it 3 times with ultrapure water, dry it at 60 °C and then obtain UO 2 blue-black powder after grinding. 14…”

“…Compared with Pt/C, graphene oxide showed higher catalytic activity and stability. Radioactive uranium dioxide powder was prepared by Dashu Pan et al 14 through hydrothermal method, and a series of Pt-xUO 2 /C catalysts were synthesized by impregnation method, which were used to solve the problem of low activity and easily poisoning of anodic Pt/C catalyst for direct ethanol fuel cell. Through a series of characterization, it is proved that Pt-10% UO 2 /C has high catalytic activity, and it is proposed that the improvement of catalytic performance is due to the fact that UO 2 improves the resistance to CO poisoning by releasing O 2 stored in the lattice space, while the α-particles released by 235 U can also generate ˙OH and promote the oxidative desorption of CO from the Pt surface.…”

“…Among them, Pt as the main catalyst plays a major role in the oxidation of ethanol, 27 UO 2 is a co-catalyst, and the catalytic activity of the catalyst is enhanced by the synergistic effect of Pt and UO 2 , while the addition of UO 2 improves the resistance of Pt to CO poisoning. 14 Carbon black has a large specific surface area, good electrical conductivity and good chemical stability. The addition of carbon black can improve the dispersibility of Pt nanoparticles and play the role of a carrier.…”