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Encyclopedia of Applied Electrochemistry pp 85–92Cite as

Anodic Reactions in Electrocatalysis - Methanol Oxidation

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Introduction

The electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol has gained much interest over a number of years, because it is the simplest alcohol which can be completely oxidized to carbon dioxide in a Direct Methanol Fuel Cell (DMFC) [1–3], thus providing the maximum energy densities (6.1 kWh kg−1 or 4.8 kWh dm−3). The great advantage of a DMFC is that methanol is a liquid fuel, thus more easily handled and stored than hydrogen. Moreover, methanol is produced in great quantity from natural gas (NG) by methane steam reforming (MSR) at a low cost (∼0.2 US$ l−1) so that it is a key product in the chemical industry. Its toxicity is relatively low and its boiling point (∼65 °C) makes it liquid for most utilization. The development of Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) led to great simplification of DMFC by avoiding a fuel processor which provides a reformate gas with a low concentration of CO (<10 ppm; otherwise, it may strongly poison the platinum-based electrode catalysts used). Due to system...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut Européen des Membranes, Université Montpellier 2, UMR CNRS n° 5635, 2 place Eugène Bataillon, 34095, Montpellier, France

    Claude Lamy

Authors
  1. Claude Lamy
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Correspondence to Claude Lamy .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Eppstein, Germany

    Gerhard Kreysa

  2. Yokohama National University, Fac. Engineering, Yokohama, Japan

    Ken-ichiro Ota

  3. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Robert F. Savinell

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Lamy, C. (2014). Anodic Reactions in Electrocatalysis - Methanol Oxidation. In: Kreysa, G., Ota, Ki., Savinell, R.F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Applied Electrochemistry. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6996-5_405

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