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Updated: Sep 6, 2025

On the Preparation and Testing of Fuel Cell Catalysts Using the Thin Film Rotating Disk Electrode Method
Published on: March 16, 2018
Improved performance of self-reactivated Pt-ThO2/C catalysts in a direct ethanol fuel cell
Yubing Xue1, Dashu Pan1, Feng Zuo2
1China Institute of Atomic Energy Beijing 102413 China yubing_xue@163.com.
Abstract:
A novel self-reactivated catalyst Pt-ThO2/C was prepared for the first time by selecting radioactive material ThO2 as the catalytic additive to address the low activity and toxicity of the anode Pt/C catalyst in a direct ethanol fuel cell. The catalytic activity and resistance to CO poisoning of Pt-6.67 wt%ThO2/C were found to be superior to those of Pt/C-NaBH4 in electrochemical workstation and single-cell tests. It is speculated that the exist of ThO2 not only improves the catalytic activity via the synergistic effect of Pt and Th, but also produces a large amount of radiolysis products, OH radicals, due to 232Th which oxidatively desorbs CO from Pt-COads and solves the CO poisoning problem.
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