International Journal of Modern Science and Technology

INDEXED IN 

ISSN 2456-0235

​​​​International Journal of Modern Science and Technology, 1(9), 2016, Pages 329-336. 


Synthesis and Characterization of Ternary Pt–Ru–Mo/MC Anode Catalyst on Membraneless Methanol Fuel Cells

P. Ramar1, M. Chitralekha2
1 Department of Chemistry, Government Arts College, Ariyalur – 621 713. India.
2 Department of Chemistry, D G Government Arts College, Mayiladuthurai – 609 001. India.

Abstract
In the present work, mesoporous carbon-supported Pt–Ru–Mo electrocatalyst for methanol electro-oxidation were synthesized by Bonnemann’s method and characterized in terms of their structure, morphology, and composition by using XRD, TEM, and EDX techniques. XRD and EDX results revealed the structural information for alloy catalysts together with their carbon support. TEM measurements revealed a decrease in the mean particle size (5 nm) of the catalysts for the ternary compositions. The structural change was beneficial for the catalytic activity of the compositions. The electrocatalytic activities of Pt34Ru33Mo33/MC, Pt50Ru50/MC, Pt50Mo50/MC, and Pt100/MC catalysts for methanol oxidation in an acid medium were investigated by CV and CA. CA results showed that Pt34Ru33Mo33/MC gives a high current under a steady condition. The single membraneless methanol fuel cell performances of the Pt34Ru33Mo33/MC, Pt50Ru50/MC and Pt50Mo50/MC anode catalysts were evaluated at room temperature. Among the catalysts investigated, the power density obtained for Pt34Ru33Mo33/MC (34.3 mW cm−2) catalyst was higher than that of Pt50Ru50/MC (23.1 mW cm−2) and Pt50Mo50/MC (20.3 mW cm−2) using 1.0 M methanol + 0.5 M H2SO4 as the anode feed and 0.1 M sodium percarbonate + 0.5 M H2SO4 as the cathode feed.

​​Keywords: Electrocatalysts; Mesoporous carbon; Methanol; Power density; Membraneless methanol fuel cells.

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