Abstract
This paper describes the investigation of electrocatalytic activity of the AuCeO2/C catalyst, prepared using the microwave irradiation method, towards the oxidation of sodium borohydride and oxygen reduction reactions in an alkaline medium. It was found that the obtained AuCeO2/C catalyst with Au loading and electrochemically active surface area of Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) equal to 71 µg cm−2 and 0.05 cm2, respectively, showed an enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards investigated reactions, compared with the Au/C catalyst with an Au loading and electrochemically active surface area of AuNPs equal to 78 µg cm−2 and 0.19 cm2, respectively. The AuCeO2/C catalyst demonstrated ca. 4.5 times higher current density values for the oxidation of sodium borohydride compared with those of the bare Au/C catalyst. Moreover, the onset potential of the oxygen reduction reaction (0.96 V) on the AuCeO2/C catalyst was similar to the commercial Pt/C (0.98 V).
Highlights
Conventional combustion-based technologies with high emission rates pose a significant threat regarding air pollution, health, and the climate
This paper describes the electrocatalytic properties of the AuCeO2/C catalyst prepared by the microwave irradiation method for the oxidation of borohydride and reduction of oxygen
This paper presents an investigation of the electrocatalytic activity of as-prepared AuCeO2/C and Au/C catalysts toward sodium borohydride oxidation and oxygen reduction reactions
Summary
Conventional combustion-based technologies with high emission rates pose a significant threat regarding air pollution, health, and the climate. Their operation requires enormous natural resources that are not eternal. The most attention has attracted DAFC, DBFC, PEMFC because the materials used in these fuel cells can be more produced, stored, and transported compared to the other fuel cells, making them more advantageous. DBFC has attracted the attention of researchers because of sodium borohydride (sodium borohydride anion BH4−) potential to generate extremely pure hydrogen on demand or just be directly oxidized in a DBFC. In the light of these advantages, DBFC technology is still attractive for investigation regarding its use as a potential power generator technology in energy systems [13,14,15,16]
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