{"id":{"repo_id":"vt","oai_identifier":"oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31505"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/vt/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/31505","repository":{"repo_id":"vt","name":"Virginia Tech","base_url":"https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Evaluation of TiO2 as a Pt-Catalyst Support in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell","abstract":"Direct ethanol fuel cells are of interest due to the high energy density, ease of distribution and handling, and low toxicity of ethanol. Difficulties lie in finding a catalyst that can completely oxidize ethanol and resist poisoning by intermediate reaction species. Degradation of the catalyst layer over time is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this work, niobium doped-titanium dioxide (Nb-TiO2) is investigated as a platinum (Pt) support due to its increased resistance to corrosion compared to the common catalyst support, carbon. It has also been seen in the literature that TiO2 is able to adsorb OH and assist in freeing Pt sites by further oxidizing COad to CO2 and thereby increasing the catalytic activity of catalysts toward ethanol oxidation. The TiO2 support is mixed with carbon, forming Nb-TiO2-C, in order to increase the conductivity throughout the support. The electrochemical activity and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) performance of this novel catalyst is investigated and compared to that of two common catalysts, carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) and carbon supported platinum-tin (PtSn/C). While the conductivity of the Pt/Nb-TiO2-C electrodes was low compared to that of the carbon supported electrodes, the overall catalytic activity and performance of the TiO2 supported catalyst was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst based on the electrochemically active surface area.","abstract_html":"Direct ethanol fuel cells are of interest due to the high energy density, ease of distribution and handling, and low toxicity of ethanol. Difficulties lie in finding a catalyst that can completely oxidize ethanol and resist poisoning by intermediate reaction species. Degradation of the catalyst layer over time is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this work, niobium doped-titanium dioxide (Nb-TiO2) is investigated as a platinum (Pt) support due to its increased resistance to corrosion compared to the common catalyst support, carbon. It has also been seen in the literature that TiO2 is able to adsorb OH and assist in freeing Pt sites by further oxidizing COad to CO2 and thereby increasing the catalytic activity of catalysts toward ethanol oxidation. The TiO2 support is mixed with carbon, forming Nb-TiO2-C, in order to increase the conductivity throughout the support. The electrochemical activity and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) performance of this novel catalyst is investigated and compared to that of two common catalysts, carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) and carbon supported platinum-tin (PtSn/C). While the conductivity of the Pt/Nb-TiO2-C electrodes was low compared to that of the carbon supported electrodes, the overall catalytic activity and performance of the TiO2 supported catalyst was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst based on the electrochemically active surface area.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gordon, Ashley Rebecca"],"institution":"Virginia Tech","degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":"masters","degree_discipline":"Mechanical Engineering","degree_department":"Mechanical Engineering","school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":["Ellis, Michael W."],"committee_members":["Nelson, Douglas J.","Dillard, David A."],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-03-12","date_published":"2012-03-12","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z","subjects":["potentiostatic hold","power density","OCV","polarization curves","electrochemical analysis","cyclic voltammetry","ethanol oxidation"],"languages":[],"rights":["In Copyright"],"rights_urls":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-03192012-180033"],"render_values":[{"text":"etd-03192012-180033","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31505","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.committeechair","label":"Committee Chair","values":["Ellis, Michael W."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.committeemember","label":"Committee Member","values":["Nelson, Douglas J.","Dillard, David A."]},{"key":"dc:contributor.department","label":"Department","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gordon, Ashley Rebecca"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2014-03-14T20:32:45Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2014-03-14T20:32:45Z","2012-04-02"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2012-03-12"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Virginia Tech"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mechanical Engineering"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["potentiostatic hold","power density","OCV","polarization curves","electrochemical analysis","cyclic voltammetry","ethanol oxidation"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["In Copyright"]},{"key":"dc:rights.uri","label":"Rights URI","values":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.other","label":"Dc Identifier Other","values":["etd-03192012-180033"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31505"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Direct ethanol fuel cells are of interest due to the high energy density, ease of distribution and handling, and low toxicity of ethanol. Difficulties lie in finding a catalyst that can completely oxidize ethanol and resist poisoning by intermediate reaction species. Degradation of the catalyst layer over time is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this work, niobium doped-titanium dioxide (Nb-TiO2) is investigated as a platinum (Pt) support due to its increased resistance to corrosion compared to the common catalyst support, carbon. It has also been seen in the literature that TiO2 is able to adsorb OH and assist in freeing Pt sites by further oxidizing COad to CO2 and thereby increasing the catalytic activity of catalysts toward ethanol oxidation. The TiO2 support is mixed with carbon, forming Nb-TiO2-C, in order to increase the conductivity throughout the support. The electrochemical activity and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) performance of this novel catalyst is investigated and compared to that of two common catalysts, carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) and carbon supported platinum-tin (PtSn/C). While the conductivity of the Pt/Nb-TiO2-C electrodes was low compared to that of the carbon supported electrodes, the overall catalytic activity and performance of the TiO2 supported catalyst was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst based on the electrochemically active surface area."]},{"key":"dc:description.degree","label":"Dc Description Degree","values":["Master of Science"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Evaluation of TiO2 as a Pt-Catalyst Support in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.committeechair":["Ellis, Michael W."],"dc:contributor.committeemember":["Nelson, Douglas J.","Dillard, David A."],"dc:contributor.department":["Mechanical Engineering"],"dc:creator":["Gordon, Ashley Rebecca"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2014-03-14T20:32:45Z"],"dc:date.available":["2014-03-14T20:32:45Z","2012-04-02"],"dc:date.issued":["2012-03-12"],"dc:description.abstract":["Direct ethanol fuel cells are of interest due to the high energy density, ease of distribution and handling, and low toxicity of ethanol. Difficulties lie in finding a catalyst that can completely oxidize ethanol and resist poisoning by intermediate reaction species. Degradation of the catalyst layer over time is also an issue that needs to be addressed. In this work, niobium doped-titanium dioxide (Nb-TiO2) is investigated as a platinum (Pt) support due to its increased resistance to corrosion compared to the common catalyst support, carbon. It has also been seen in the literature that TiO2 is able to adsorb OH and assist in freeing Pt sites by further oxidizing COad to CO2 and thereby increasing the catalytic activity of catalysts toward ethanol oxidation. The TiO2 support is mixed with carbon, forming Nb-TiO2-C, in order to increase the conductivity throughout the support. The electrochemical activity and direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) performance of this novel catalyst is investigated and compared to that of two common catalysts, carbon supported Pt (Pt/C) and carbon supported platinum-tin (PtSn/C). While the conductivity of the Pt/Nb-TiO2-C electrodes was low compared to that of the carbon supported electrodes, the overall catalytic activity and performance of the TiO2 supported catalyst was comparable to that of the Pt/C catalyst based on the electrochemically active surface area."],"dc:description.degree":["Master of Science"],"dc:identifier.other":["etd-03192012-180033"],"dc:identifier.uri":["http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31505"],"dc:publisher":["Virginia Tech"],"dc:rights":["In Copyright"],"dc:rights.uri":["http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/"],"dc:subject":["potentiostatic hold","power density","OCV","polarization curves","electrochemical analysis","cyclic voltammetry","ethanol oxidation"],"dc:title":["Evaluation of TiO2 as a Pt-Catalyst Support in a Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mechanical Engineering"],"thesis:degree_level":["masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"],"thesis:institution_name":["Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:18:50Z"}