Investigation of electrochemically co-deposited Pt-WO3 catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation

INOR 845

Shrisudersan Jayaraman, sudha@engineering.ucsb.edu1, Thomas F. Jaramillo2, and Eric W. McFarland, mcfar@engineering.ucsb.edu1. (1) Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, (2) Center for Independent Nanoparticle Functionality, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have attracted widespread attention due to their promise as low-temperature compact power sources not dependent on hydrogen as fuel. However, the cost of platinum-based catalysts is prohibitively high preventing the use of DMFCs in practical applications. One of the major reasons for the poor performance of Pt as a catalyst for methanol oxidation is its susceptibility to poisoning by CO and other strongly adsorbed intermediates. There are several studies on mixed metal catalysts (such as Pt-Ru, Pt-Ru-Rh, Pt-Ru-Os, etc.) that have shown considerable improvement in poison tolerance; however, these metal alloys are themselves prohibitively expensive. In this talk, we present studies of the metal-metal oxide catalyst system, Pt-WO3, focusing on the minimization of noble metal loading as well as improvement in the performance. Also, the mechanism for improvement in catalytic activity will be presented.
 

Inorganic Catalysts
1:30 PM-5:30 PM, Wednesday, 16 March 2005 Convention Center -- Room 6F, Oral

Division of Inorganic Chemistry

The 229th ACS National Meeting, in San Diego, CA, March 13-17, 2005