Bioethanol as a new sustainable fuel for anion exchange membrane fuel cells with carbon nanotube supported surface dealloyed PtCo nanocomposite anodes

In this account, we report a facile and environmentally friendly method for preparing surface dealloyed nanocomposite (SD-PtCo/CNT) as an active electrocatalyst towards the ethanol oxidation, and as a low-cost technique for the fabrication of direct bioethanol fuel cell using biomass-derived ethanol. The scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) images confirmed the dealloyed nanostructure surface of the as-prepared catalysts. The electrochemical tests indicated that the SD-PtCo/CNT nanocomposites had higher electrocatalytic activities and excellent durabilities toward the ethanol electrooxidation. The enhanced performance resulted from the superior distribution of the bimetallic PtCo catalyst nanoparticles and the dealloyed surface structure. Moreover, the anion membrane-based direct bioethanol fuel cells assembled from this nanocomposites as anodes demonstrated a superior output performance of 88.6 mW cm⁻². This value was enhanced to 3.2-folds of that acquired on the commercial Pt/C. These findings suggested that the fabricated direct bioethanol fuel cells had substantial performance and low cost, and thus could be potential for future applications.