Activation of commercial Pt/C catalyst towards glucose electro-oxidation by irreversible Bi adsorption

Publication date: Available online 18 October 2017 Source:Journal of Energy Chemistry Author(s): Petri Kanninen, Tanja Kallio The effect of irreversibly adsorbed Bi on commercial Pt/C catalyst towards glucose electro-oxidation reaction (GOR) in different electrolytes (acidic, neutral, alkaline) is studied. Bi is successfully deposited on Pt/C from Bi3+ containing acidic solution from 0 to 90% coverage degree. The stability of the Bi layer in acid and alkaline corresponded to previous studies and started to dissolve at 0.7 V and 0.8 V vs reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. However, in neutral phosphate buffer the layer showed remarkable stability to at least 1.2 V vs RHE. Bi modification at low (20%) and high (80%) coverage showed the highest increase in the activity of Pt/C towards GOR by a factor up to 7 due to the increased poisoning resistance of the modified catalyst. The effect of poisoning was especially reduced at high Bi coverage (80%), which shows that adsorbate blocked by Bi through the third-body effect is effective. Finally, with or without Bi modification GOR on Pt/C was most active in alkaline conditions. Graphical abstract

Source: Journal of Energy Chemistry - October 19, 2017 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research