Platinum single crystal electrodes for the electrocatalysis of methane oxidation

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to characterize the voltammetric profiles of platinum single crystals of low Miller indexes Pt(100) and Pt(110) and study their catalytic activities on the oxidation of methane. In this way, it was developed a metallic surface modified by presence of other metal oxide, which presents catalytic activity for this reaction. It is well known that the electrooxidation of methane (CH4) leads mainly to the formation of CO2 and H2O, however, the oxidation can also lead to the formation of CO, a reaction intermediate that has strong interaction with metal surfaces, such as platinum. This molecule tends to accumulate on the platinum surface and to passive it, due to the self-poisoning, decreasing its catalytic activity. Therefore, the main aim of this work was the development of a platinum electrode modified by deposition of titanium oxide, which presented electrocatalytic properties for the oxidation of methane.

Keywords

• platinum single crystal electrodes
• electrooxidation of methane
• titanium electrodeposition