2026-04-19T13:51:48Zhttps://riubu.ubu.es/oai/request

oai:riubu.ubu.es:10259/110982025-11-26T01:05:34Zcom_10259_5822com_10259_5086com_10259_2604col_10259_5823

Temperature dependent performance and catalyst layer properties of PtRu supported on modified few-walled carbon nanotubes for the alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell Kanninen, Petri Borghei, Maryam Hakanpää, Janina Kauppinen, Esko I. Ruiz Fernández, Virginia Kallio, Tanja Ethanol Few-walled carbon nanotube Nitrogen Direct ethanol fuel cell Catalyst layer Alkaline electrolyte Catalizadores Catalysts The performance of PtRu on three differently modified few-walled carbon nanotube (FWCNT) supports for ethanol electro-oxidation is evaluated in alkaline media both with rotating disc electrode (RDE) and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) measurements at various temperatures (0–60 °C). FWCNT are modified with oxidative treatment (O-FWCNT), aniline coating (A-FWCNT) and N-doped carbon layer (N-FWCNT). RDE testing shows that A-FWCNT/PtRu outperforms both O-FWCNT/PtRu and N-FWCNT/PtRu especially at high temperatures giving 1.5 times higher current at 60 °C. The poisoning resistance of N-FWCNT/PtRu is high over the temperature range, while O-FWCNT/PtRu and A-FWCNT/PtRu become increasingly poisoned with increasing temperature. Alkaline DEFC testing at 30 °C and 50 °C indicates similar dependence to temperature as in RDE tests. However, only N-FWCNT/PtRu can sustain currents for longer than 20–30 h during constant voltage measurement. SEM images of the catalyst layers reveal that both O-FWCNT/PtRu and A-FWCNT/PtRu form a dense structure with little pores for reactant and product transport explaining the quick performance loss, while large pores are formed with N-FWCNT/PtRu facilitating the transport. These results underline that the interactions between the catalyst support and the ionomer in the fuel cell catalyst layer are important in forming a suitable pore structure for efficient mass transfer. P.K. acknowledges funding from Alfred Kordelin Foundation and from Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. T.K. acknowledges funding from Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation and Academy of Finland. This work made use of the Aalto University Nanomicroscopy Center (Aalto-NMC) premises. 2025-11-25T09:56:36Z 2025-11-25T09:56:36Z 2017-05 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion 1572-6657 https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11098 10.1016/j.jelechem.2016.10.019 eng Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry. 2017, V. 793, p. 48-57 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jelechem.2016.10.019 Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess application/pdf Elsevier https://riubu.ubu.es/bitstream/10259/11098/4/Kanninen-jec_2017.pdf.jpg Hispana TEXT http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ RIUBU. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Burgos https://hdl.handle.net/10259/11098