Research on UO2 modification of a direct ethanol fuel cell Pt/C catalyst

Abstract

Radioactive UO₂ powder was prepared by hydrothermal method and a set of Pt–xUO₂/C catalysts were synthesized by impregnation method for solving the problem of low activity and easy poisoning of anode Pt/C catalysts for a direct ethanol fuel cell. XRD, TEM, EDS, XPS and ICP-MS characterization showed the successful loading of Pt and UO₂ onto the carbon carrier. Electrochemical workstation and single cell test results confirm that the catalytic performance of Pt–10% UO₂/C is significantly better than Pt/C-eg. It is speculated that the synergistic effect of Pt and U enhances the catalytic activity and UO₂ improves the resistance to CO poisoning by releasing O₂ stored in the lattice space, while the α-particles released by ²³⁵U can also generate radiolysis product OH and promote the oxidative desorption of CO from the Pt surface.