Abstract

AbstractThe conducting polymer PEDOT is tested as a carbon substitute material for the DMFC anode. Electrochemical experiments are carried out in a three‐electrode half‐cell at room temperature. The first part of this paper focuses on the characterization of PEDOT and PEDOT‐PSS as a diffusion layer material. PEDOT/C cyclic voltammograms are recorded in 1 M H2SO4 in the range between the hydrogen evolution and polymer over‐oxidation potentials. The incorporation of the PSS counter‐ion into the polymer matrix leads to higher impedance values compared to PEDOT without PSS. The second part deals with the study of PEDOT as a Pt catalyst support. It is found that the partial over‐oxidation of PEDOT enhances the activity of Pt for methanol oxidation. This can be explained by a change in the morphology of PEDOT that probably improves methanol diffusion within the reaction layer. The degradation of the conducting polymer is confirmed by SEM, EDX, and FTIR measurements.

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