Electrocatalysis

, Volume 9, Issue 3, pp 293–301 | Cite as

Stability Testing of Pt x Sn1 − x /C Anodic Catalyst for Renewable Hydrogen Production Via Electrochemical Reforming of Ethanol

  • Ana B. Calcerrada
  • Ana R. de la Osa
  • Holly A. E. Dole
  • Fernando Dorado
  • Elena A. Baranova
  • Antonio de Lucas-Consuegra
Original Research
First Online:

Abstract

The stability testing of three different synthesized Pt x Sn1 − x /C anodic catalysts has been demonstrated for the renewable generation of hydrogen via the electrochemical reforming of ethanol in a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolysis cell. Three Pt-Sn anodic catalysts with different nominal Pt:Sn ratios of 60:40, 70:30, and 80:20 atomic (at.) % were synthetized and characterized by the means of electrochemical tests and XRD. Among them, the Pt-Sn anodic catalyst with 70:30 at. ratio showed the highest electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and highest electrochemical reforming activity, which allowed the production of pure H2 with the lowest electrical energy requirement (below 23 kWh·kgH2 −1). The stability of the system was also demonstrated through a long-term chronopotentiometry experiment of 48 h in duration. The potential for practical use and coupling this technology with renewable solar energy, a number of cyclic voltammetry tests (with a low scan rate of 0.19 mV·s−1) were also carried out. These experiments were performed by simulating the electrical power produced by a photovoltaic cell. This test showed good stability/reproducibility of the MEA and, hence, a suitable integration between the two technologies for the sustainable energy storage in the form of hydrogen.

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Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Pt-Sn catalyst Ethanol electro-oxidation Hydrogen production Electrochemical reforming Energy storage Electrolysis 
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Notes

Funding Information

We acknowledge the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competiveness (project CTQ2016-75491-R) for the financial support. A. B. Calcerrada would like also to thank the Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha (JCCM) and the European Social Fund for the financial support.

Supplementary material

12678_2017_428_MOESM1_ESM.docx (322 kb)
ESM 1 (DOCX 322 kb)

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Chemical Sciences and TechnologyUniversity of Castilla-La ManchaCiudad RealSpain
  2. 2.Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Center for Catalysis Research and Innovation (CCRI)University of OttawaOttawaCanada

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