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Studies of some operating parameters and cyclic voltammetry for a direct ethanol fuel cell

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Abstract

A direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) of 5 cm2 membrane-electrode area was studied systematically by varying the catalyst loading, ethanol concentration, temperature and different Pt based electro-catalysts (Pt–Ru/C, Pt-black High Surface Area (HSA) and Pt/C). A combination of 2 M ethanol at the anode, pure oxygen at the cathode, 1 mg cm−2 of Pt–Ru/C (40%:20%) as the anode and 1 mg cm−2 of Pt-black as the cathode gave a maximum open circuit voltage (OCV) of 0.815 V, a short circuit current density of 27.90 mA cm−2 and a power density of 10.3 mW cm−2. The optimum temperatures of the anode and cathode were determined as 90 °C and 60 °C, respectively. The power density increased with increase in ethanol concentration and catalyst loading at the anode and cathode. However, the power density decreased slightly beyond 2 M ethanol concentration and 1 mg cm−2 catalyst loading at the anode and cathode. These results were validated using cyclic voltammetry at single electrodes under similar conditions to those of the DEFC.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Government of India (102/01/2002-NT).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India

    H. Pramanik & S. Basu

  2. School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, Exeter University, Exeter, EX4 4QF, UK

    A. A. Wragg

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  1. H. Pramanik
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  2. A. A. Wragg
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  3. S. Basu
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Correspondence to S. Basu.

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Pramanik, H., Wragg, A.A. & Basu, S. Studies of some operating parameters and cyclic voltammetry for a direct ethanol fuel cell. J Appl Electrochem 38, 1321–1328 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9560-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-008-9560-0

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