Electrooxidation of 2-propanol compared ethanol on Pd electrode in alkaline medium

Here, the oxidation activity of 2-propanol compared ethanol on Pd electrode has been studied in alkaline medium. We have used the amount of coulombs (coulometry) and apparent activation energy (E-a) to measure the activity of alcohol electrooxidation. The amount of coulombs during alcohol electrooxidation for 2-propanol is much higher than that of ethanol showing that 2-propanol is more easily electrochemically oxidized than ethanol. The E-a values of 2-propanol are lower than that of ethanol at the potential from -0.45 to -0.375 V which is usually used in direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) indicating that 2-propanol shows better electrooxidation activity than ethanol. Crown Copyright (C) 2009 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.