Rate of adsorption of methanol at a polycrystalline platinum electrode in acid solution

Methanol continues to be the most likely practical fuel for fuel cells operating at low internal temperatures. Enhanced knowledge of the electrochemistry of the anodic oxidation of methanol at platinum electrodes could assist in the attempts to improve the platinum-based electrocatalysts that are commonly employed in that technology. There have been numerous studies of the overall kinetics of the methanol anode including identification of dissolved products and adsorbed species but little has been reported on the quantitative rate of the adsorption process. In the lower range of potentials, where no oxidative products are released to the electrolyte, the adsorption is initiated by an electrochemical dehydrogenation and follows Elovich kinetics over most of the range of fractional surface coverage with methanolic species. Specifically adsorbed anions affect both the rate of methanol adsorption and its oxidation to desorbed products. Published by Elsevier B.V.