Debasish Chakraborty

Mixed Phase Pt-Ru Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Anode by Flame Aerosol Synthesis

A spray-flame aerosol catalyzation technique was studied for producing Pt-Ru anode electrodes for the direct methanol fuel cell. Catalysts were produced as aerosol nanoparticles in a spray-flame reactor and deposited directly as a thin layer on the gas diffusion layer. The as-prepared catalyst was found to be a mixture of nanocrystalline, mostly unalloyed Pt and an amorphous phase mostly of Ru and to a lesser extent of Pt oxides on top of the crystalline phase. The flame-produced Pt1Ru1 demonstrated similar onset potential but -60% higher activity compared to commercially available Pt1Ru1/Vulcan carbon. The kinetics of methanol oxidation on the mixed phase catalyst was also explored by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

Bottom-Up Design of a Copper-Ruthenium Nanoparticulate Catalyst for Low-Temperature Ammonia Oxidation

A novel nanoparticulate catalyst of copper (Cu) and ruthenium (Ru) was designed for low-temperature ammonia oxidation at near-stoichiometric mixtures using a bottom-up approach. A synergistic effect of the two metals was found. An optimum CuRu catalyst presents a reaction rate threefold higher than that for Ru and forty-fold higher than that for Cu. X-ray absorption spectroscopy suggests that in the most active catalyst Cu forms one or two monolayer thick patches on Ru and the catalysts are less active once 3D Cu islands form. The good performance of the tuned Cu/Ru catalyst is attributed to changes in the electronic structure, and thus the altered adsorption properties of the surface Cu sites.