Potassium ferrate(VI) and decomposed K{sub}2FeO{sub}4 assisted methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media

摘要

The cyclic voltammograms (CVs) and current-time curves of methanol electro-oxidation, assisted by K{sub}2FeO{sub}4, decomposed K{sub}2FeO{sub}4 and Fe(NO{sub}3){sub}3 added in strong alkaline solution, were investigated on a Pt electrode. The results show that Fe(NO{sub}3){sub}3 and K{sub}2FeO{sub}4, especially decomposed K{sub}2FeO{sub}4, can promote the activity and poisoning tolerance of a Pt electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation in alkaline solution. We propose that iron(III)-containing compounds such as Fe(OH){sub}3 and FeOOH in a strong alkaline solution tend to encourage the formation of OH adsorption (OH{sub}(ads)) species, which are necessary for the promotion of the CO-like intermediates of oxidation on the Pt electrode.