Fengzhan Si

A modified Nafion membrane with extremely low methanol permeability via surface coating of sulfonated organic silica

We developed a method to significantly decrease the methanol permeability of a Nafion membrane that does not require sacrificing its proton conductivity and mechanical stability. The Nafion membrane modified by the coating of a thin layer of sulfonated organic silica on the membrane surface exhibits significantly decreased methanol permeability--the permeability is decreased to an undetectable level--while retaining an acceptable ionic conductivity of 0.029 S cm(-1).

The role of anisotropic structure and its aspect ratio: high-loading carbon nanospheres supported Pt nanowires with high performance toward methanol electrooxidation

High-loading carbon supported Pt nanowire electrocatalysts are successfully synthesized in a mild one-pot template- and surfactant-free route. The high electrocatalytic activity, Pt utilization, and long-term stability toward methanol are ascribed to the anisotropic structural properties, exposure of specified planes, and the role of support on good dispersion.

Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Abstract In this chapter, the fundamentals of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) including thermodynamics and electrode kinetics are presented. The ORR kinetics including reaction mechanisms catalyzed by different electrode materials and catalysts including Pt, Pt alloys, carbon materials, and nonnoble metal catalysts are discussed based on the literature in terms of both experiment and theoretical approaches. It is emphasized that these fundamentals of ORR are necessary in order to perform the meaningful characterization of catalytic ORR activity using both rotating disk electrode and rotating ring-disk electrode methods.