Evaluation of TiO2 as a Pt-Catalyst Support in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorGordon, Ashley Rebeccaen
dc.contributor.committeechairEllis, Michael W.en
dc.contributor.committeememberNelson, Douglas J.en
dc.contributor.committeememberDillard, David A.en
dc.contributor.departmentMechanical Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T20:32:45Zen
dc.date.adate2012-04-02en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T20:32:45Zen
dc.date.issued2012-03-12en
dc.date.rdate2012-04-02en
dc.date.sdate2012-03-19en
dc.description.abstractDirect ethanol fuel cells are of interest due to the high energy density, ease of distribution and handling, and low toxicity of ethanol. Difficulties lie in finding a catalyst that can completely oxidize ethanol and resist poisoning by intermediate reaction species. Degradation of the catalyst layer over time is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this work, niobium doped-titanium dioxide (Nb-TiO2) is investigated as a platinum (Pt) support due to its increased resistance to corrosion compared to the common catalyst support, carbon. It has also been seen in the literature that TiO2 is able to adsorb OH and assist in freeing Pt sites by further oxidizing COad to CO2 and thereby increasing the catalytic activity of catalysts toward ethanol oxidation. The TiO2 support is mixed with carbon, forming Nb-TiO2-C, in order to increase the conductivity throughout the support. The electrochemical activity and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) performance of this novel catalyst is investigated and compared to that of two common catalysts, carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) and carbon supported platinum-tin (PtSn/C). While the conductivity of the Pt/Nb-TiO2-C electrodes was low compared to that of the carbon supported electrodes, the overall catalytic activity and performance of the TiO2 supported catalyst was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst based on the electrochemically active surface area.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-03192012-180033en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-03192012-180033/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/31505en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartGordon_AR_T_2012_Copyright.pdfen
dc.relation.haspartGordon_AR_T_2012.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectpotentiostatic holden
dc.subjectpower densityen
dc.subjectOCVen
dc.subjectpolarization curvesen
dc.subjectelectrochemical analysisen
dc.subjectcyclic voltammetryen
dc.subjectethanol oxidationen
dc.titleEvaluation of TiO2 as a Pt-Catalyst Support in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cellen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineMechanical Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

Files

Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Gordon_AR_T_2012_Copyright.pdf
Size:
308.36 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Gordon_AR_T_2012.pdf
Size:
3.96 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Download

Collections

Masters Theses