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Au/C catalyst prepared by polyvinyl alcohol protection method for direct alcohol alkaline exchange membrane fuel cell application

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Abstract

An Au/C catalyst was prepared by means of the polyvinyl alcohol-protected Au sol method. Highly dispersed Au nanoparticles with an average particle size of around 3.7 nm were obtained as confirmed by transmission electron microscopy. The cyclic voltammogram of Au/C was similar to that of a bulk Au electrode, but a small shift of Au oxide reduction and oxidation potential peaks were observed. The electrooxidation of methanol, ethanol, ethylene glycol, and glycerol on the Au/C catalyst in an alkaline solution was analyzed. Using a cyclic voltammogram, the maximum current density toward alcohol electrooxidation was found to decrease in the order of glycerol > ethylene glycol > ethanol, while methanol was not oxidized. Compared with PtRu/C, the maximum current densities obtained from the Au/C catalyst for ethylene glycol and glycerol electrooxidation were increased by 1.6 and 3.3 times, respectively. The reaction heavily progressed through a C–C bond dissociation path. It was found that main product of glycerol electrooxidation was formic acid, which accounted for more than 60 % of the total product. Using chronoamperometry, the Au/C catalyst showed much better stability than that of PtRu/C for the reaction without C–C bond dissociation and better stability for the reaction with C–C bond dissociation.

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Acknowledgments

The financial supports for this research from the National Nanotechnology Center of Thailand (NANOTEC), and the Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE) are greatly appreciated. The first author would like to thank the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) for the Royal Golden Jubilee (RGJ) scholarship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Energy Division, Joint Graduate School of Energy and Environment (JGSEE), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), 126 Pracha-Uthit Road, Bang Mod, Thung Khru, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    S. Yongprapat

  2. Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Research and Engineering Center, Clean Energy System Group, PDTI, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), 126 Pracha-Uthit Road, Bang Mod, Thung Khru, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    A. Therdthianwong

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), 126 Pracha-Uthit Road, Bang Mod, Thung Khru, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    S. Therdthianwong

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  1. S. Yongprapat
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  2. A. Therdthianwong
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  3. S. Therdthianwong
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Correspondence to A. Therdthianwong.

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Yongprapat, S., Therdthianwong, A. & Therdthianwong, S. Au/C catalyst prepared by polyvinyl alcohol protection method for direct alcohol alkaline exchange membrane fuel cell application. J Appl Electrochem 42, 483–490 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0423-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-012-0423-3

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