Reduction of the Carbon-Hydrogen Bond Strength in Methanol Adsorbed on Platinum Fuel-Cell Electrodes

摘要

Radiometric evidence of a reduction in hydrogen-carbon bond strengths in the methanol molecule when electrosorbed on platinum-black electrodes was obtained in a study of sorption processes at fuel-cell electrodes. In an aqueous solution of methanol, the 3H radioactivity level was found to remain constant while the 14C radioactivity in the fuel-electrolyte solution indicated substantial adsorption had occurred on the platinum electrode. This anomalous result may be explained by the rapid dehydrogenation and/or exchange of carbon-bonded hydrogen with water when the methanol is adsorbed. The existence of these mechanisms lends support to the dissociative theories of electrosorption and explains, in part, the activation of hydrocarbons undergoing anodic oxidation. (Author)