As the energy demand and diversity increases human beings need new energy sources or energy converters. Among energy convertion technologies, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have attracted much attention due to their uniqe advantages. But, high-efficiency and CO poisoning are still the main drawbacks of these systems. In this study, binary CoAg electrocatalyst was fabricated on a carbon felt (C-felt) as promising anode material for DMFCs. Electrocatalytic performance of the binary catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation reaction was studied in 0.1 M KOH solution containing 1 M methanol using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA) techniques. Time-stability and CO poisoning tolerance of the catalyst were examined with CA technique. The electrocatalysts were characterized using SEM, EDX and XRD techniques. The data of binary eletrocatalysts were compared with the un-coated C-felt and Co-modified C-felt as reference points. It was found that the CoAg binary electrocatalyst has quite good electro-catalytic activity for the methanol electrooxidation reaction. The high-electrocatalytical activity was related to large real surface area, high intrinsic activity of Co and Ag as well as possible synergistic affect between the metals.

中文翻译：

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二元CoAg电催化剂的甲醇电氧化活性


随着能源需求和多样性的增加，人类需要新能源或能源转换器。在能源转换技术中，直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）因其独特的优势而备受关注。但是，高效率和CO中毒仍然是这些系统的主要缺点。在这项研究中，二元 CoAg 电催化剂是在碳毡（C-felt）上制造的，作为有前途的 DMFC 阳极材料。采用循环伏安法 (CV) 和计时安培法 (CA) 技术，在含有 1 M 甲醇的 0.1 M KOH 溶液中研究了二元催化剂对甲醇电氧化反应的电催化性能。采用CA技术考察了催化剂的时间稳定性和CO中毒耐受性。使用 SEM、EDX 和 XRD 技术对电催化剂进行了表征。将二元电催化剂的数据与未涂覆的C-毡和共改性的C-毡作为参考点进行比较。研究发现CoAg二元电催化剂对甲醇电氧化反应具有良好的电催化活性。高电催化活性与大的实际表面积、Co和Ag的高本征活性以及金属之间可能的协同作用有关。