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Promotion of catalytic activity of Pt@Al-Ti doped ZnO nanostructured anodes for direct methanol fuel cells

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Abstract

Different nanostructured anode electrocatalyst using Pt, Al, Ti, ZnO, and carbon cloth (CC) including Pt@CC, Pt@ZnO-CC, Pt@Al-ZnO-CC, Pt@Ti-ZnO-CC, and Pt@Al-Ti-ZnO-CC are prepared for the purpose of application in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). The effect of carbonaceous material modification and co-doping (Al/Ti) utilization in electrodes is investigated for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The results show that the incorporation of Al, Ti, and Pt nanoparticles into ZnO does not damage the hexagonal wurtzite structure. The doping ZnO with Al and Ti nanoparticles improves the dispersion of Pt catalysts and increases the current density by 1.6 times compare with Pt@CC electrode. Maximum electrochemical surface area of 98.6 m2 g−1, minimum amount of charge transfer resistance of 14 Ω cm2, and good CO tolerance and stability are found in Pt@Al-Ti-ZnO-CC electrode. This electrode in the active DMFC shows the maximum power and current density of 15.1 mW cm−2 and 83.4 mA cm−2, respectively, in the cell voltage of 0.2 V. In the EIS test, charge transfer resistance at the anode and cathode (Rct,a and Rct,c) values is decreased by 11.6 and 26.6% by reducing the cell voltage from 0.3 to 0.2 V, respectively.

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Abbreviations

ATZO:

Aluminum titanium-doped zinc oxide

CB:

Conduction band

CC:

Carbon cloth

CO:

Carbon monoxide

COads :

Adsorbed carbon monoxide

CV:

Cyclic voltammetry

DI:

Deionized

DMFC:

Direct methanol fuel cell

ECSA:

Electro chemical surface area

EDX:

Energy dispersive X-ray analysis

EIS:

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy

Hupd :

Hydrogen under potential deposition

MCO:

Methanol crossover

MEA:

Membrane electrode assembly

MOR:

Methanol oxidation reaction

ORR:

Oxygen reduction reaction

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

TCO:

Transparent conducting oxide

VB:

Valence band

VO:

Oxygen vacancy

XRD:

X-ray diffraction

\(\delta\) :

Poisoning rate/% per second

CPE-a:

Double layer capacitance at the anode/mF cm−2

CPE-c:

Double layer capacitance at the cathode/mF cm−2

C dl :

Double layer capacitance/µF cm−2

E p :

Peak potential/V

\(i_{0}\) :

Current obtained by the extrapolating the linear current decay/mA cm−2

I f :

Current density of forwarding peak/mA cm−2

I r :

Current density of reverse peak/mA cm−2

\(L_{Pt}\) :

Pt loading/gPt m−2

\(Q_{H}\) :

Coulombic charge for hydrogen adsorption on the Pt sites/µC cm−2

R ct :

Charge transfer resistance/Ω cm2

R ct,a :

Charge transfer resistance at the anode/Ω cm2

R ct,c :

Charge transfer resistance at the cathode/Ω cm2

R ohm :

Bulk resistance/Ω cm2

R s :

Solution resistance/Ω cm2

Z w :

Warburg impedance/Ω cm2

\(\left( {{{di} \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{di} {dt}}} \right. \kern-0pt} {dt}}} \right)_{t\rangle 200s}\) :

Linear current slope at \(t > 200\,s\)/mA cm−2 s−1

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  1. Department of Applied Chemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, 65178-38695, Iran

    Sedigheh Amirinejad & Jalal Basiri Parsa

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Amirinejad, S., Parsa, J.B. Promotion of catalytic activity of Pt@Al-Ti doped ZnO nanostructured anodes for direct methanol fuel cells. J Solid State Electrochem 27, 2347–2363 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-023-05491-0

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