Evaluating the Electrochemical Characteristics of Babassu Coconut Mesocarp Ethanol Produced to Be Used in Fuel Cells

The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of ethanol deriving from the mesocarp of babassu coconut to be used in fuel cells. Babassu ethanol was generated through hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The Pt, PtRh and PtRu electrodes were prepared in carbon Vulcan XC72R through the re...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Brazilian Chemical Society Vol. 29; no. 8; pp. 1732 - 1741
Main Authors Cardoso, Ziel, Rodrigues, Isaide, Mendonça, Cáritas, Rodrigues, José, Ribeiro, Walace, Silva, Wanderson, Maciel, Adeilton
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sociedade Brasileira de Química 01.08.2018
Subjects
CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY
ethanol oxidation
babassu
electrocatalysis
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of ethanol deriving from the mesocarp of babassu coconut to be used in fuel cells. Babassu ethanol was generated through hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The Pt, PtRh and PtRu electrodes were prepared in carbon Vulcan XC72R through the reduction method and applied as electrocatalysts in ethanol oxidation reaction. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), stripping CO, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) were used to characterize the synthesized eletrocatalysts. The electrocatalyst Pt80Ru20/C presented larger active area and higher catalytic activity than other studied materials. The current efficiency of CO2 production rated less than 1% in all studied electrocatalysts, thus showing that babassu ethanol oxidation produces less pollutants than the commercial ethanol.
ISSN:0103-5053
1678-4790
1678-4790
DOI:10.21577/0103-5053.20180048