Title: Volatile Organic Molecules from Fundamental Electrocatalysis to Direct Fuel Cells Application

Speaker: Prof. Alex Schechter, Ariel University, Israel

Abstract: Second-generation bio-organic fuels- Dimethyl Ether (DME) and Methylformate (MF) are low boiling point molecules considered as potential fuel for direct feed proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). DME &MF advantages over other fuels include high energy density, pump-less fuel delivery, liquefied storage, relatively low toxicity and minimal crossover through Nafion(R) in PEMFC, required for high fuel cell performance. In this work, we report a new family of ternary nanoparticle catalysts comprised of Pt, Pd and Sn at selected ratios studied as anode material. The fundamental analysis suggests that DME and MF share common intermediates. However, each occupies a different site on the catalyst's surface. This observation is based on density functional theory (DFT) calculation and online and mass spectrometry analysis of the reaction gas products at selected potentials. This finding opens the possibility of using DME-MF and their by-products (methanol and formic acid ) as flexible fuel direct fuel cells, which is essential for reversative hydrocarbon fuel cell systems. Rigorous surface and electrochemical analysis of the catalysts and their activation using HRTEM, EDX, XPS, ICP-OES and tailored electrochemical experiments reveal the role of each element in the total oxidation of DME/MF in acidic electrolytes as well as in direct gas-fed applications yielding exceptionally high specific power output. Finally, a few future advances and applications will be discussed.