Overview on the Vital Step toward Addressing Platinum Catalyst Poisoning Mechanisms in Acid Media of Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells (DEFCs)
Rakan M. Altarawneh
Abstract
Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) offer one of the attractive alternatives to conventional combustion technologies as low carbon power sources for vehicles and could become important power sources for consumer electronics and distributed power systems. They provide very high theoretical efficiency (97%), and ethanol is a safe, plentiful, and renewable resource that can be simply stored and handled through the current infrastructure. However, the development and commercialization of DEFCs are hampered by low practical efficiencies and the production of acetaldehyde and acetic acid byproducts as well as carbon monoxide. New anode catalysts are needed to solve these problems, and these need to be evaluated in terms of their electrochemical performance, efficiency, and emissions. In combination with computational studies, various experimental techniques including DEMS, in situ FTIR, and NMR could be employed to provide insights regarding the mechanisms of the ethanol electrooxidation reaction occurring at the newly designed anode catalysts. This insight is necessary to provide the understanding required to allow highly active catalytic materials to be developed and thus enhance the performance and efficiency of DEFCs.