Abstract
Direct Oxidation Fuel Cells (DOFCs) are power systems that can replace H2/O2 fuel cells in different applications where the use of hydrogen is a major problem. The use of liquid fuels can be of great advantage due to the easiness of their transport and handling. A considerable number of small organic molecules have been considered as fuels in DOFCs. Methanol is the most studied liquid fuel, but the main problem of this molecule is its high toxicity score. Some alternative liquid fuels are taking an important role and are being considered as replacements of methanol, mainly because they are prone to be electro-oxidized at low temperatures at suitable electrocatalysts. C2-fuels such as ethanol (EtOH, C2H5OH) and ethylene glycol (EG, C2H6O2) are some of the most interesting molecules for DOFCs, because of their high energy density and due to the fact that only one C–C bond scission occurs during the dissociative adsorption of the molecule to form CO2. In this chapter we present a description of the Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells (DEFC) and the Direct Ethylene Glycol Fuel Cell (DEGFC). We describe the reaction mechanism of the electro-oxidation of these fuels, the problems related to their crossover and the development of EtOH and EG tolerant cathodes.
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