Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol, Ethanol and Formic Acid

In the 1970s and 1980s the major trend was to study the electrooxidation reaction mechanisms and elucidate the surface adsorbed species acting as intermediates and/or catalytic poisons. This was facilitated by progress in experimental apparatus (e.g., development of methods for electrode potential-dependent analysis of surface and bulk intermediates and reaction products) and introduction of new techniques for easy preparation of clean single crystal electrodes (i.e., the Clavilier method [19]). 

Extensive studies were carried out in the same time period regarding the structural sensitivity of HCOOH electrooxidation. The rate of formic acid oxidation was highest on Pt(lll), and up to four-fold current enhancement was reported for a 60% (111) oriented surface compared to a polycrystal [23-25]. Interestingly, in contrast to the methanol case, Pt(l 11) exposed to formic acid was less poisoned by COad [26]. Weaver and collaborators compared the structural sensitivity of CH3OH, C2H5OH, and HCOOH electrooxidation on single crystal Pt using real-time FTIR coupled with quasi-steady state voltammetry [27]. This study 

Considerable effort was directed toward finding efficient co-catalysts or promoters that, together with Pt, could enhance the rate of anodic oxidation of methanol and formic acid. The oxidation of ethanol received comparatively less attention in the 1970s and 1980s, most likely due to the more complex electrode kinetics and catalysis imposed by the C-C bond. 

Manoharan et al. applied a different type of gas activation (CO2 atmosphere at 1213 K for 1 h) to carbon particles (Vulcan XC72) and observed that the activity 

Furthermore, Olah and co-workers introduced the term methanol economy , proposing methanol as the key chemical raw material and energy carrier of the future, with production shifting increasingly toward alternative sources such as biomass and atmospheric CO2 instead of syn-gas derived from methane and/or coal 

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Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol, Ethanol and Formic Acid... 

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