Page 75 - Book of Abstracts

th
8 Biannual Conference on Chemistry - CHEM 08

Boosted Formic Acid Electro-oxidation at a Pt/GC Catalyst:

Optimization of the Electrodeposition Potential of Platinum
nanoparticles

Bilquis Ali Al-Qodami , Islam M. Al-Akraa , Ahmad M. Mohammad *
1
1
2
E-mail: Bilquisali2015@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

The criteria for choosing a specific fuel for fuel cells evaluate its nature,
cost, toxicity, availability, safety, calorific value, decomposition, purity,
water content, fuel cell performance, and energy density. In this regard,
formic acid has outperformed much of the "typical fuels" like hydrogen
and methanol in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs)
which necessitated a basic research on the electrocatalysis of formic acid
electro-oxidation (FAO); the principal anodic reaction in the direct formic
acid fuel cells (DFAFCs). In fact, the DFAFCs encountered a critical
challenge that largely degrades their catalytic performance in parallel to
the deactivation (or sometimes poisoning) of the Pt anodes that are
typically used for FAO. This poisoning arises from the "non-faradaic"
dissociation of FA to CO which gets adsorbed strongly on the surface of
the Pt; concealing a significant number of the Pt active sites that eventually
deteriorates the overall performance of the DFAFCs. Before marketing, the
DFAFCs have to be durable and cost-effective, which may not happen
before overcoming the CO poisoning of the Pt catalyst. The current
investigation aims at evaluating the impact of the deposition potential of
Pt nanoparticles on a glassy carbon substrate (Pt/GC) on the catalytic
activity of the catalyst toward FAO. As Pt represents a crucial material for
fuel cells, its loading as a precious metal and its activity have to be
optimized to yield the best mass activity. Platinum nanoparticles were
deposited electrochemically on the GC substrate by a potentiostatic
technique at different potentials (from 0.2 V to -0.2 V vs. Hg/Hg2Cl2/KCl
(sat.) reference electrode) and the corresponding influence of the
deposition potential on the catalytic activity toward FAO was monitored.
Preliminary results showed a significant role for the deposition potential
of Pt nanoparticles on the catalytic activity of the Pt/GC catalyst toward
FAO.

BOOK OF ABSTRACTS CHEM 08 (2020) Page 74