Addition of bismuth to Pt and Pd for electric power generation with selective cogeneration of acetate from ethanol in a fuel cell type reactor

Pt/C, PtBi(95:5)/C, Pd/C, and PdBi(95:5)/C were synthesized by the sodium borohydride reducing method to produce metal nanoparticles with advanced electronic properties to enhance the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) mechanism. The Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) images and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) showed that a small Bi content does not affect the nanoparticle size PdBi/C; in contrast, it does affect the PtBi ones. The X-ray diffraction analysis revealed a lattice parameter modification by Bi dope in Pt crystalline structure. Furthermore, the ATR-FTIR results indicated the suppression of carbonate formation and increment in acetate production. The results of polarization and power density curves on DEFC, the material PtBi/C presented the more high power density, almost six times bigger than Pt/C. PtBi/C also has the highest current density (44 mW/cm2) and the lowest onset potential (−0.6 V) in linear sweep voltammetry experiments. It also has the highest final current density in current-time experiments. Hence, PtBi/C is a very promising electrocatalyst for DEFC.