Abstracts Book - IMRC 2018

• SC1-O016
M-DOPED TiO2 (M= Sn, Ta) AS ENHANCED Pt ELECTROCATALYST
SUPPORT FOR DIRECT METHANOL FUEL CELL
Ana Lilia Ocampo 1 , Isaac Juárez 2 , Edgar Valenzuela 3 , Lázaro Huerta 4 , Josefina de Gyves 1
1 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Facultad de Química, Mexico. 2 Universidad
Politécnica del Estado de Guerrero, Energía, Mexico. 3 Universidad Autónoma de Baja
California, Facultad de Ingeniería, Mexico. 4 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México,
Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Mexico.
In order to increase the corrosion resistance of the catalysts and enhance the
catalyst-support interactions, various alternatives of non-carbon supports are
being investigated. Conducting oxides such as RuO2, SnO2, WO3 and TiO2
represent some examples, in particular, TiO2 has shown high stability in acid and
basic media, greater durability compared to that of conventional carbon
supports and can act as co-catalyst. However, their poor electrical properties
limit its applications in fuel cells. In this work, as an attempt to improve the
electrical conductivity of pure TiO2, Sn and Ta were used as dopant materials.
Tantalum and tin doped titania were synthesized by the sol-gel method and
used as a catalyst support for platinum electrocatalyst, the electrocatalytic
activity towards methanol oxidation of the Pt/M-TiO2 was investigated (M=Sn,
Ta). For comparison purposes, a Pt/ TiO2 was also synthesized. The prepared
electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron
microscopy (TEM), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and X-ray
photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical results show that M-doped
titania supported Pt have improved electrical conductivity than that supported
on pure titania and also presented a better performance for methanol
oxidation. The electroactive surface area increased in the order: Pt/TiO2 < Pt/Sn-
TiO2 < Pt/Ta-TiO2. The doped titania materials appear to be suitable candidates
to substitute carbon as a fuel cell catalyst support.
Keywords: METHANOL OXIDATION, CATALYST SUPPORT, CONDUCTING OXIDES
Presenting authors email: analof@gmail.com