Carbon monoxide oxidation on Pt-Ru electrocatalysts supported on high surface area carbon

This find is registered at Portable Antiquities of the Netherlands with number PAN-0000787

Activity and Stability of Dispersed Multi Metallic Pt-based Catalysts for CO Tolerance in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Anodes

ABSTRACT Studies aiming at improving the activity and stability of dispersed W and Mo containing Pt catalysts for the CO tolerance in proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) anodes are revised for the following catalyst systems: (1) a carbon supported PtMo electrocatalyst submitted to heat treatments; (2) Pt and PtMo nanoparticles deposited on carbon-supported molybdenum carbides (Mo2C/C); (3) ternary and quaternary materials formed by PtMoFe/C, PtMoRu/C and PtMoRuFe/C and; (4) Pt nanoparticles supported on tungsten carbide/carbon catalysts and its parallel evaluation with carbon supported PtW catalyst. The heat-treated (600 oC) Pt-Mo/C catalyst showed higher hydrogen oxidation activity in the absence and in the presence of CO and better stability, compared to all other Mo-containing catalysts. PtMoRuFe, PtMoFe, PtMoRu supported on carbon and Pt supported on Mo2C/C exhibited similar CO tolerances but better stability, as compared to as-prepared PtMo supported on carbon. Among the tungsten-based catalysts, tungsten carbide supported Pt catalyst showed reasonable performance and reliable stability in comparison to simple carbon supported PtW catalyst, though an uneven level of catalytic activity towards H2 oxidation in presence of CO is observed for the former as compared to Mo containing catalyst. However, a small dissolution of Mo, Ru, Fe and W from the anodes and their migration toward cathodes during the cell operation is observed. These results indicate that the fuel cell performance and stability has been improved but not yet totally resolved

Influência da acidez do meio sobre a síntese e o comportamento redox do polipirrol Influence of the medium acidity on the synthesis and redox behavior of polypyrrole

<abstract language="eng">The influence of acidity on the synthesis and redox behavior of polypyrrole films was studied using galvanostatic and potentiodynamic techniques employing aqueous solutions formed by H2SO4/Na2SO4 , HCl/NaCl and HCl/CsCl. The chemical structure of the films were investigated using the FTIR technique. The polymer behavior as a function of the pH used in the cyclic voltammetric measurements is explained in terms of the mechanism responsible for the charge compensation formed during the polymer chain oxidation. From the FTIR measurements, it is seen that the water nucleophilic attack during the synthesis, does not occur under the experimental conditions employed in this work

Estudo do efeito do tratamento superficial por moagem sobre as propriedades das partículas de uma liga de hidreto metálico Effect of a milling surface treatment on the properties of metal hydride alloy particles

<abstract language="eng">This work reports results of studies on the electrochemical and structural properties of a Ti/Zr-based metal hydride alloy covered by Ni and LaNi4,7Sn0,3 powder additives by ball milling. The effect of this treatment is investigated for the activation time, hydrogen storage capacity and equilibrium pressure, cycling stability and the hydration/dehydration kinetics. Charge and discharge cycles show a significant decrease of the activation time due to an increase of the active area caused by the milling treatment, independent of the additive. However, other results have evidenced little effect of the milling surface treatment on the charge storage capacity, hydrogen equilibrium pressure, and hydration/dehydration kinetics, for both the Ni and LaNi4,7Sn0,3 covered materials

Effects of the operational conditions on the membrane and electrode properties of a polymer electrolyte fuel cell

The effects of the operational conditions on the membrane and electrode properties on a polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) were investigated as a function of the cell and the gas humidifiers temperatures, the thickness of the membrane, the impregnation with phosphotungstic acid (PWA), and the variation of the Nafion and Teflon contents in the gas diffusion electrodes. An increase of the membrane resistance was observed when the PEFC is operated at temperatures equal or higher than those of the gas humidifiers, and this is more apparent for thicker electrolyte films. In the presence of PWA, the physicochemical properties of the membrane do not appreciably change with temperature. However, in this case, a lower humidification temperature affects the electrode performance. Changes on the Nafion loading in the electrodes do not lead to any significant effect in the electrode and membrane properties. For high Teflon contents there is a small lowering of the membrane conductivity

Effect of partial substitution of nickel by tin, aluminum, manganese and palladium on the properties of LaNi5-type metal hydride alloys

This work reports studies on the electrochemical behavior of AB5-type hydrogen storage alloys, formed by LaNi(5-x)Zx, where Z is a metallic element partially replacing Ni, which included Sn, Al, Mn, and Pd. In the case of Mn, some AB6-type structures were also considered. Substitution of a small fraction of Ni by Al, Sn, and Mn (x <FONT FACE=Symbol>@</FONT> 0.3) leads to an increase of the hydrogen storage capability (HSC), while for Pd there is a decrease of this property. Generally all alloys presenting larger initial HSC exhibit lower stability. A decrease of the hydrogen equilibrium pressure as a function of Mn content is observed for the AB5 alloys and this is related to an increase of the crystalline unit cell volume. Electrochemical impedance measurements show a significant increase of the hydration/dehydration reaction kinetics due to a raise on the active area as a function of the charge/discharge cycle number. It is also seen that the alloys presenting larger HSC are those showing smaller activation energies for the hydrogen oxidation reaction