SrFeO_(3-δ) Assisting with Pd Nanoparticles on the Performance of Alcohols Catalytic Oxidation

摘要

Current catalysts for the alcohol oxidation in fuel cells (typically noble metals based) are susceptible to poisoning with intermediates like CO. Hence we decided to find superseded catalysts for methanol oxidation based on incorporation of mixed oxides. In this research, a nano-size perovskite SrFeO3-delta (SrFeO(3-delta)NPs) was synthesized by a rapid co-precipitation method assisted with ultrasonic and characterized by XRD, FT-IR, SEM and EDX techniques. A modified glassy carbon electrode with Pd nanoparticles (PdNPs) and SrFeO(3-delta)NPs dispersed into the appropriate amount of chitosan (CH) polymer as a multifunctional catalyst was prepared and its catalytic activity toward alcohols (C-1 - C-3) oxidation was investigated. Based on the electrochemical studies, the PdNPs-SrFeO(3-delta)NPs-CH nanocomposite showed considerable activity for alcohols (C-1 - C-3) oxidation in comparison to PdNPs-CH and SrFeO(3-delta)NPs-CH. A direct methanol fuel cell was designed, assembled and tested with suggested PdNPs-SrFeO(3-delta)NPs-CH nanocomposite under several different conditions. The effect of experimental parameters (temperature; methanol concenfration; flow rate) as well as NaOH concenfration) on the electrical performances of the fuel cell were studied and optimized.