| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
MACHIDA Ken-ichi The Research Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University Instructor, 触媒研究所, 助手 (00157223)
KUNIMATSU Keiji The Research Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University Instructor, 触媒研究所, 助手 (10002114)
ARAMATA Akiko The Research Institute for Catalysis, Hokkaido University Associate Prof., 触媒研究所, 助教授 (80001717)
|
|---|
| Budget Amount *help |
¥7,500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,500,000)
Fiscal Year 1986: ¥500,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000)
Fiscal Year 1985: ¥7,000,000 (Direct Cost: ¥7,000,000)
|
|---|
| Research Abstract |
The aim of the project is to clarify the mechanism.of evolution of electrocatalytic activity towards anodic oxidation of carbonaceous compounds (methanol, formaldehyde, formate, etc.) and to design highly active electrocatalysts for those reactions. Techniques employed were sputtering, electrodeposition, alloying, use of SPE (Solid Polymer Electrolyte) membranes, etc. for catalyst preparation and AES (Auger Electron Spectroscopy) surface analysis, etc. for surface characterization. Results obtained may be summarized as follows:
1. Anodes for methanol fuel cells: The surface compound which is formed and contaminates electrode surface during electro-oxidation of methanol, formaldehyde, etc. has been identified as adsorbed CO through investigations using in-situ reflection infra-red spectroscopy. Contact of Pt with SPE as well as addition to Pt of Sn, Ru, etc. could lead to higher activity and/or longer sustained life. Some metal carbides and tungsten bronzes were shown to have acceptable level of electrocatalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation.
2. Anodes for formaldehyde fuel cells: Potentiality of Au, Ag, and Cu as anode materials for formaldehyde electro-oxidation in alkaline media was demonstrated. The reaction is shown to take place through methyleneglycol ion producing formate with simultaneous evolution of hydrogen. It was demonstrated that alloys of these metals with Pd at a certain composition, particularly amorphous ones, could oxidize hydrogen and formate simultaneously, thus leading to complete oxidation of formaldehyde.
|
