Direct ethanol oxidation fuel cell with anionite membrane and alkaline electrolyte

A number of cathode catalysts were synthesized from nitrogen-containing organic complexes on XC-72R carbon black for an alkaline electrolyte. The catalysts were studied by the rotating disc electrode (RDE) technique. The polyacrilonitrile (PAN), phthalocyanine (Pc), and cobalt tetra(methoxyphenyl)porphyrin (CoTMPP) systems showed the highest activity. The slope of the oxygen polarization curves in the first region in 1 M KOH was 35–40 mV; this corresponds to concentration polarization in an alkaline solution in the O₂-HO₂⁻ system. A cyclic voltammetry study demonstrated that the catalytic systems with the highest corrosion stability were Pc + Co + Fe/XC-72R and CoTMPP/XC-72R pyropolymer. The activity of the catalysts decreased by 20–25% compared with the initial current densities on average. An ethanol-oxygen fuel cell with a Fumasep FAA anionite membrane and nonplatinum catalysts was tested. The maximum power density was 32 mW/cm² at 40°C. The stability test of the fuel cell showed that the materials used for the membrane-electrode assembly allowed more than 100 h of continuous operation with constant working characteristics.