(Digital Presentation) Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol over Silver Based Electrocatalysts Synthesized By Solution Combustion Technique

Abstract

Herein, we report the electrocatalytic properties of Ag-M/C (M=Cu, Zn, Fe, Cr, Mn) catalysts produced using solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The morphological properties of the synthesized catalysts were studied using SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD and XPS techniques. The characterization results indicated that out of all catalysts, AgCu/C had the most porous surface, small and well distributed particles with high surface area making it a good choice for electrocatalytic experiments. The XPS results showed a shift in peak in the AgCu/C sample due to the charge transfer between Ag and Cu indicating a strong interaction between Ag and Cu. The electrochemical properties of the catalysts were studied at 1 M methanol concentration and 1 M KOH (electrolyte) concentration by performing Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Linear Sweep Voltammetry (LSV) experiments. It was observed that AgCu/C exhibited a greater electrocatalytic activity and was therefore, found to be a more viable catalyst for MOR. Following this, further concentration studies were conducted on AgCu/C for methanol concentrations of 0.5M, 1M, 1.5M, 2.5M to evaluate the rate dependency of the catalyst on MeOH concentration. The CV and LSV curves depicted a linear increase in current density proportional to the increase in methanol concentration, indicating power-law dependency. The catalyst also displayed long-term stability when chronoamperometry test was performed for 20 hours.