Organometallic Complexes Anchored to Conductive Carbon for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methane at Low Temperature.
Low-temperature direct methane fuel cells (DMEFCs) offer the opportunity to substantially improve the efficiency of energy production from natural gas. This study focuses on the development of well-defined platinum organometallic complexes covalently anchored to ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) for electrochemical oxidation of methane in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell at 80 °C. A maximum normalized power of 403 μW/mg Pt was obtained, which was 5 times higher than the power obtained from a modern commercial catalyst and 2 orders of magnitude greater than that from a Pt black catalyst. The observed differences in catalytic activities for oxidation of methane are linked to the chemistry of the tethered catalysts, determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The chemistry/activity relationships demonstrate a tangible path for the design of electrocatalytic systems for C-H bond activation that afford superior performance in DMEFC for potential commercial applications.
Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Madhura
M
Joglekar
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Vinh
V
Nguyen
Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Svitlana
S
Pylypenko
Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Chilan
C
Ngo
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Quanning
Q
Li
Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
Matthew E
ME
O'Reilly
Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
Tristan S
TS
Gray
Department of Physics, University of California-Los Angeles , Los Angeles, California 90095, United States.
William A
WA
Hubbard
Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia , Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, United States.
T Brent
TB
Gunnoe
Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Andrew M
AM
Herring
Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, Colorado School of Mines , Golden, Colorado 80401, United States.
Brian G
BG
Trewyn
D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D002384:Catalysis; D008697:Methane / Q000737:chemistry*; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009942:Organometallic Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D056951:Photoelectron Spectroscopy; D013696:Temperature
D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D002244:Carbon; D008697:Methane