Preliminary investigation on the electrochemical activity of butanol isomers as potential fuel for direct alcohol fuel cell

Vinod Kumar Puthiyapura, Daniel J. Brett, Andrea E. Russell, Wen Feng Lin, Christopher Hardacre

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

    Abstract

    A preliminary investigation of electrocatalytic oxidation activity of butanol isomers has been carried out to study their potential as fuels for direct alcohol fuel cells. The electrochemical study was carried out on Pt and Pd electrodes using a three electrode cell set up in alkaline media. The primary alcohol isomers of butanol were observed to behave similarly in their electrochemical reactions whereas 2-butanol showed completely different oxidation features on both catalysts. For example, no poisoning effects were observed for 2- butanol unlike for the primary butanol isomers. In contrast, tert-butanol did not show any oxidation reaction on Pt and Pd electrodes. Furthermore, Pd was not active at all in acidic media for butanol oxidation. The reactivity of butanol isomers were found to be in the order n-butanol>iso-butanol>2-butanol>tert-butanol based on the oxidation current density values.

    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationECS Transactions
    PublisherElectrochemical Society
    Pages809-816
    Number of pages8
    Volume69
    Edition17
    ISBN (Print)9781607685395
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2015
    EventSymposium on Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells 15, PEFC 2015 - 228th ECS Meeting - Phoenix, United States
    Duration: 11 Oct 201515 Oct 2015

    Conference

    ConferenceSymposium on Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cells 15, PEFC 2015 - 228th ECS Meeting
    Country/TerritoryUnited States
    CityPhoenix
    Period11/10/1515/10/15

    Keywords

    • Fuel cell
    • Electrochemistry
    • Voltammetry

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