The electrochemical oxidation of methanol on single crystal surfaces of platinum

Thesis/Dissertation · Sun Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1989

OSTI ID:6338634

Feddrix, F H

The electrochemical oxidation of methanol was studied on the low index planes of platinum-(100), (110), (111)-and on polycrystalline platinum in 0.1 M HClO{sub 4}. Presently, platinum is the most active electrocatalyst for this oxidation reaction and acid electrolytes are preferred because they are CO{sub 2} rejecting. Linear sweep cyclic voltammetry and LEED were used to verify that the flame annealed platinum single crystal surfaces used in this work were well ordered. A novel technique-the Hanging Meniscus Rotating Disk electrode (HMRD)-was used to differentiate voltammetric features arising from surface structure effects from those due to electrolytic impurities. The reactivity of these well-ordered surfaces for the oxidation of methanol, formaldehyde, formic acid, and carbon monoxide was studied by linear sweep cyclic voltammetry, potential step, and HMRD methods. The kinetics of each organic oxidation was dependent upon the crystallographic plane in contact with the solution. The effect of CO on the oxidation of methanol, formic acid, and formaldehyde was studied. CO was determined to be an intermediate in the oxidation of methanol by both electrochemical and spectroscopic methods. In situ FTIR studies also showed that the methanol oxidation reaction was dependent upon electrode surface structure. Linearly adsorbed CO was detected on all three low index surfaces and the frequency at which it appeared was dependent upon the crystal face. The production of CO{sub 2} via the oxidation of methanol was monitored via FTIR. The mechanistic implications of these findings were discussed.

• Research Organization: Case Western Reserve Univ., Cleveland, OH (USA)
• OSTI ID: 6338634
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

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ADSORPTION
ALCOHOLS
ALDEHYDES
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CARBON MONOXIDE
CARBON OXIDES
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CATALYSTS
CATALYTIC EFFECTS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL BONDS
CHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COHERENT SCATTERING
CRYSTAL STRUCTURE
CRYSTALS
DIFFRACTION
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
ELECTROCATALYSTS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTRODES
ELECTRON DIFFRACTION
ELEMENTS
FORMALDEHYDE
FORMIC ACID
FOURIER TRANSFORMATION
FUEL CELLS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
INFRARED SPECTRA
INTEGRAL TRANSFORMATIONS
KINETICS
METALS
METHANOL
MONOCARBOXYLIC ACIDS
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLATINUM
PLATINUM METALS
POLYCRYSTALS
REACTION INTERMEDIATES
REACTION KINETICS
SCATTERING
SORPTION
SPECTRA
SURFACE PROPERTIES
SYNTHESIS
TRANSFORMATIONS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
VOLTAMETRY