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Australian Journal of Chemistry Australian Journal of Chemistry Society
An international journal for chemical science
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Formate: A Possible Replacement for Formic Acid in Fuel Cells

Zhaoyi Yang A , Yaner Wang A , Ting Dong A , Xiufang Yuan A , Liulin Lv A , Xubing Wei A and Jun Wang A B
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Department of Chemistry, Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning, 110004, China.

B Corresponding author. Email: wangjun_chem@mail.neu.edu.cn

Australian Journal of Chemistry 70(7) 757-763 https://doi.org/10.1071/CH16585
Submitted: 12 October 2016  Accepted: 28 November 2016   Published: 6 January 2017

Abstract

We present a facile thermodynamic strategy for identifying formate electrooxidation at a Pt electrode in a fuel cell. Mixtures of formate and sulfuric acid are used as fuel solutions for maintaining formic acid at a low concentration and reducing CO poisoning of the Pt electrode. Pt is modified by a polyaniline porous film to improve the electrocatalytic activity towards formate oxidation. The result indicates that formate can bypass the poisoning path to form CO2 at a low potential. Additionally, we propose a new mechanism of formate electrooxidation and investigate the possibility of an independent oxidation path starting from free formate in solution.


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