9 - Bimetallic nanomaterials for direct alcohol fuel cells

Abstract

Nanoscience and nanotechnology have grown tremendously in the 21st century. Fascinating advances in nanostructured materials have been happening more and more. A lot of applications have been made in the areas of health, defense, energy, materials chemistry, and even biology. These studies have been increasing gradually. However, sometimes monometallic materials cannot provide the desired cycle efficiency. Due to this situation, bimetallic nanomaterials have come to the fore. Among various liquid alcohol fuels, methanol is a promising fuel candidate due to its high energy density, ease of use, low operating cost. This fuel candidate is getting more and more attention from researchers. The development of electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) is highly valuable, with new-generation catalysts being developed. For this purpose, bimetallic materials and catalysts were synthesized. Bimetallic nanomaterials are nanoparticles containing two different types of metal atoms in a single material; they are considered heterogeneous catalysts. Bimetallic nanoparticles have many reactive functions, especially in organic chemistry. Also, extensive mechanical studies have been performed in applications ranging from sensors to catalysts. Those nanomaterials have superior and unique properties compared to ordinary materials, and therefore they have been used for the improvement of the new catalyst system with increased efficiency, activity, stability, durability, reusability, and selectivity. Sinfelt introduced the term “bimetallic” at the beginning of the 1980s. The superior properties of bimetallic nanomaterials can be explained by their synergistic effects. In this chapter, information about bimetallic nanomaterials is given, as well as about alcohol oxidation of these particles.