On the Formation of Electrocatalysts for Methanol and Ethanol Oxidation by the Ion Beam-Assisted Deposition of Rare-Earth Metals and Platinum on Carbon Carriers

Аннотация

Active layers on the surface of AVCarb® Carbon Fiber Paper P50 and Toray Carbon Fiber Paper TGP-H-060 T carbon carriers are formed by the ion-beam-assisted deposition of platinum and one of the rare-earth metals (Ce, Gd, Dy, Yb, and Ho) as an activating additive in order to obtain electrocatalysts for the direct oxidation of ethanol and methanol for fuel cells with a polymer membrane electrolyte. The deposition of metal atoms and mixing of the deposited layer with the surface of the substrate with accelerated ions of the same metal are performed from the neutral vapor fraction and the vacuum arc discharge plasma of a pulsed electric arc ion source, respectively. A distinctive feature of the obtained electrocatalysts is their higher activity in the oxidation process of more complex ethanol molecules as compared with methanol.