Vulcan/Pt/Ce Catalysts Prepared by Impregnation Using EDTA for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell, Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell, and Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Fuel Cell

Rolando Guzmán-Blas, Christian L. Menéndez, Carlos A. Vélez, Estevão Rosim Fachini, Aaron Johnston-Peck, Sanjaya D. Senanayake, Dario Stacchiola, Kotaro Sasaki, Carlos R. Cabrera

Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, USA.
Chemistry Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, USA..
Chemistry Graduate Program, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, USA.
General Studies College, Physical Sciences Department, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, USA.
NASA-University Research Centers for Advanced Nanoscale Materials, Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, USA.

DOI: 10.4236/sgre.2013.47A001                

Abstract

A wet chemistry synthesis of Pt-Ce doped catalysts on carbon Vulcan support using an impregnation method with EDTA is presented. The composite catalyst was characterized by XRD, XPS and TEM. The catalytic activity of the prepared material was tested in a direct fuel cell using methanol, ethanol and hydrogen as fuels. The polarization and power curves showed that the Vulcan/Pt/Ce(III) doped catalysts improved the performance of the fuel cells when compared with Vulcan-Pt anode materials.

Keywords

Cerium; Fuel Cell; Pt; Methanol; Ethanol; Hydrogen

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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