• Moreira, Thamyres Fernandes Messa
• Bresciani, Guilherme B.
• Morais, Cláudia
• Kokoh, Kouakou Boniface
• Napporn, Teko

Abstract

<jats:p>Glycerol Electrooxidation Reaction (GEOR) has been herein investigated on Rh/C and Rh/SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-C prepared by polyol method. The particle mean sizes were found to be 2.0 and 1.8 nm in Rh/C and Rh/SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-C, respectively. The alloying degree reached 63% in Rh/SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-C, confirming a Sn-Rh alloy formation. The activity towards GEOR on Rh/SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-C was almost 5-fold higher than on Rh/C, as demonstrated by electrochemical measurements in alkaline medium. This trend indicated the beneficial effect of the SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub>-C carbon-oxide composite support in the catalyst composition. Analysis of the products generated after the bulk electrolysis using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and FTIRS demonstrated that at 0.55 V vs RHE the main reaction products were glycerate ion and carbonate (CO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub><jats:sup>2−</jats:sup>). Then, a C–C–C cleavage was demonstrated with the CO<jats:sub>3</jats:sub><jats:sup>2−</jats:sup> formation at low potentials. During the testings conducted in a home-made acrylic direct glycerol fuel cell at room temperature in 0.5 mol l<jats:sup>−1</jats:sup> NaOH, the maximum power density (390 <jats:italic>μ</jats:italic>W cm<jats:sup>−2</jats:sup>) obtained on a Rh/SnO<jats:sub>2</jats:sub> anode, was 5-fold higher than that on Pd/C. These testings demonstrated that the co-generation of sustainable energy and value-added products is a promising way to valorize glycerol.</jats:p><jats:p><jats:inline-formula><jats:inline-graphic xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="jesac908d-ga.jpg" xlink:type="simple" /></jats:inline-formula></jats:p>

Topics

• nanoparticle
• density
• impedance spectroscopy
• Carbon
• composite
• tin
• High-performance liquid chromatography