Author(s)

Binh Thi Xuan Lam, Masanobu Chiku, Eiji Higuchi, Hiroshi Inoue

Department of Applied Chemistry, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, Osaka, Japan.

Rhodium nanoparticle-loaded carbon black (Rh/CB) was prepared by a wet method, and its activity and durability for glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) in alkaline medium were compared with Pt, Pd and Au nanoparticle-loaded CB (Pt/CB, Pd/CB and Au/CB). In the cyclic voltammogram of the Rh/CB electrode, the redox waves due to hydrogen adsorption/desorption and the surface OH monolayer formation/reduction were observed at more negative potentials than the Pt/CB and Pd/CB electrodes. The onset and peak potentials of the GOR current densities for the Rh/CB electrode were ca. –0.55 and –0.30 V vs. Hg/HgO, respectively, which were 0.10 and 0.20 V more negative than the Pt/CB electrode whose GOR activity was the best, indicating that Rh was a fascinating metal for reducing the overpotential for GOR. In the electrostatic electrolysis with the Rh/CB and Pt/CB electrodes, the decrease in the GOR current density in the former with time was suppressed compared to that in the latter, suggesting that the tolerance to poisoning for the Rh/CB electrode was superior to that for the Pt/CB electrode.

Glycerol Oxidation Reaction, Direct Glycerol Fuel Cell, Rhodium, Nanoparticle

Lam, B. , Chiku, M. , Higuchi, E. and Inoue, H. (2016) Rhodium Nanoparticle-Loaded Carbon Black Electrocatalyst for the Glycerol Oxidation Reaction in Alkaline Medium. Advances in Nanoparticles, 5, 60-66. doi: 10.4236/anp.2016.51007.