Organometallic Complexes Anchored to Conductive Carbon for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methane at Low Temperature


Madhura Joglekar, Vinh Nguyen, Svitlana Pylypenko, Chilan Ngo, Quanning Li, Matthew E. O’Reilly, Tristan S. Gray, William A. Hubbard, T. Brent Gunnoe, Andrew M. Herring, and Brian G. Trewyn
Publication Date (Web): October 22, 2015 (Article)
DOI: 10.1021/jacs.5b06392
ABSTRACT:


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.