Electrocatalytic Activity of Pt/C Electrodes for Ethanol Oxidation in Vapor Phase

High performance platinized-carbon electrodes have been developed for the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol to acetaldehyde in electrogenerative processes. A load current density of the electrode can be achieved as high as 600 mA per square centimeter for oxygen reducing in 3 mol/L sulfuric acid with a good stability. With these electrodes and sulfuric acid as an electrolyte in fuel cells, ethanol vapor carried by nitrogen gas can be oxidized selectively to acetaldehyde. Selectivity of acetaldehyde depends on the potential of the cell and the feed rate of ethanol vapor and it can be more than 80% under optimized conditions. The initial product of ethanol oxidized on a platinized-carbon electrode is acetaldehyde and the ethanol oxidation mechanism is discussed.