• Energy Research

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.

Sorption Enhanced DME Synthesis (SEDMES) is a feasible approach to increase DME production from CO2-rich syngas.

Sorption Enhanced DME Synthesis (SEDMES) is a feasible approach to increase DME production from CO2-rich syngas.

The influence of the structure and morphology of PtRu nanoparticles supported on functionalized carbon black has been investigated for CO and methanol electrooxidation in a half-cell and in a DMFC single cell. Carbon black was treated with HNO3 to obtain an oxidized surface (Vulcan-N), and PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan-N were prepared via impregnation, Bönnemann's method and the sulfito-complex route. Temperature programmed reduction (TPR) measurements evidence the presence of RuO2·xH2O phase in the catalyst obtained by the sulfito-complex route. This phase was stabilized by metal–support interaction, whereas alloy characteristics were estimated for PtRu catalyst obtained by impregnation and Bönnemann's method. The nature of the precursor–support interaction, induced by the nature of the functional groups on the carbon surface, affects the structure of the electrocatalyst and subsequent behavior in electroactivity. When synthesized through Bönnemann's method, the surface oxygen-containing groups of the support seem to be unable to stabilize the anhydrous precursors of platinum and ruthenium, yielding crystalline RuO2. Methanol electrooxidation performance was clearly different in the three catalysts, whereas only a few negligible differences were observed in CO oxidation. The superior performance in DMFC of the catalysts obtained by the sulfito-complex route accounts for both the presence of RuO2·xH2O species and the functionalization of carbon black. This research was funded by the Ministry of Education and Science, Spain (Project ENE2007-67533-C02-01).

The influence of the structure and morphology of PtRu nanoparticles supported on functionalized carbon black has been investigated for CO and methanol electrooxidation in a half-cell and in a DMFC single cell. Carbon black was treated with HNO3 to obtain an oxidized surface (Vulcan-N), and PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan-N were prepared via impregnation, Bönnemann's method and the sulfito-complex route. Temperature programmed reduction (TPR) measurements evidence the presence of RuO2·xH2O phase in the catalyst obtained by the sulfito-complex route. This phase was stabilized by metal–support interaction, whereas alloy characteristics were estimated for PtRu catalyst obtained by impregnation and Bönnemann's method. The nature of the precursor–support interaction, induced by the nature of the functional groups on the carbon surface, affects the structure of the electrocatalyst and subsequent behavior in electroactivity. When synthesized through Bönnemann's method, the surface oxygen-containing groups of the support seem to be unable to stabilize the anhydrous precursors of platinum and ruthenium, yielding crystalline RuO2. Methanol electrooxidation performance was clearly different in the three catalysts, whereas only a few negligible differences were observed in CO oxidation. The superior performance in DMFC of the catalysts obtained by the sulfito-complex route accounts for both the presence of RuO2·xH2O species and the functionalization of carbon black. This research was funded by the Ministry of Education and Science, Spain (Project ENE2007-67533-C02-01).

LaNiO perovskite is a promising electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In this work we study the effects of several key structural and morphological features on the performance of LaNiO perovskites for the ORR. We have prepared a series of LaNiO oxides via soft chemistry and calcined the final materials at different temperatures from 500 to 1000 °C. With the aim of obtaining morphological and structural information relevant to their performance the prepared oxides have been thoroughly characterized by BET, Power Neutron Diffraction (PND), XRD, HRTEM, STEM-HAADF and XPS. We have analysed the effect of extrinsic (surface area and particle size) and intrinsic factors (formation of oxygen vacancies, Ni oxidation states and occupancy of the e levels) on the current densities and specific activity, respectively, of several samples of LaNiO. The catalysts with higher catalytic activity are those in which the perovskite structure is properly formed, but display high surface areas. María Retuerto acknowledges the Juan de la Cierva program of the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for a grant (FPDI-2013-17582). Economic support from projects ENE2013-42322-R from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, and project 201480E122 from the CSIC are also acknowledged. Project S2013/MAE-2882 is also acknowledged. J. A. Alonso and M. Teresa Fernández-Diaz thank the financial support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation to the project MAT2013-41099-R. Amaru González acknowledges the SECAT for a grant.