Abstract
Ethanol represents a promising energy source for powering fuel cells. The development of direct ethanol fuel cells is however challenged by both the sluggish kinetics of the ethanol oxidation reaction and the poor selectivity toward complete oxidation. In this work, we combine spectroelectrochemical studies of extended surfaces using sum frequency generation (SFG) and product-resolved electrocatalytic measurements under potentiostatic conditions to investigate the electro-oxidation of alcohols. By comparing the electro-oxidation of ethanol and ethylene glycol, we illustrate the different catalytic mechanisms of C–C bond cleavage and identify the role of β carbon in hindering the complete oxidation of ethanol toward CO2. Our findings provide new insights into the development of efficient electrocatalysts for multi-carbon alcohol oxidation.
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