Page 65 - Book of Abstracts 2020

th
8 Biannual Conference on Chemistry - CHEM 08

Advances in Nanocatalysis of Formic Acid Electro-Oxidation

in the Direct Formic Acid Fuel Cells
1
Ahmad M. Mohammad ,*, Islam M. Al-Akraa 2
1 Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Cairo
2
12613, Egypt, Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of
Engineering, The British University in Egypt, Cairo 11837, Egypt.
Email: ammohammad@cu.edu.eg

ABSTRACT

Advances of the development of efficient and stable nanostructured
anodes for the formic acid electro-oxidation (FAO); the principal anodic
reaction in the direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs) will be outlined. In
fact, the DFAFCs represent a convenient replacement for the traditional
hydrogen fuel cells (HFCs) in harvesting clean electricity for several
portable and stationary applications. While HFCs experience troubles
with the H2 use, storage and transportation, the DFAFCs enabled the
direct use of liquid fuels without a reformer (a reactor for H2 production)
and offered the potential for enhanced cell performance by lowering the
fuel crossover. However, unfortunately, the catalytic activity of platinum
(that typically represents the anodic catalyst in DFAFCs) deteriorates
rapidly due to the accumulation of poisoning CO. This consumes the
active Pt sites, which are supposed to participate in the corresponding
anodic reactions; lowering significantly the overall cell efficiency. We will
outline our recent achievements to mitigate the CO poisoning that will
probably pave the road of DFAFCs for a quick industrialization. Binary
and sometimes ternary modifications of Pt nanoparticles with metal
(principally gold) nanoparticles and several transition metal oxide
nanostructures (e.g., manganese oxide, nickel oxide, cobalt oxide, etc.)
were sought. The strong adsorption of CO on Pt surfaces could be tuned
either geometrically or electronically, which in turns, improved the

kinetics of formic acid electro-oxidation. The catalytic enhancement is
analyzed by the state-of-the-art tools of characterization and the results
are promising to sustain a future prosperity.

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS CHEM 08 (2020) Page 64