Comparisons of Ebonex® and graphite supports for platinum and nickel electrocatalysts

The electrogenerative oxidation of simple aliphatic and aromatic alcohols and formaldehyde has been investigated for platinum and nickel on supported Ebonex(R) catalysts with sulfuric acid and sodium hydroxide electrolytes. Comparisons were made with similarly prepared metal catalysts on graphite to permit some inferences concerning the effect of the support. The Ebonex(R) support caused a decrease in the activity of the supported platinum catalyst, but enhanced the activity of the supported nickel catalyst, which was particularly effective for formaldehyde oxidation with base even exceeding that of the platinum/graphite catalyst. The effect of a tin-palladium pretreatment, used for the deposition of the metals, was also investigated on the Ebonex(R) catalysts. The pretreatment improved performance, but not to the extent observed for graphite supports. Possible origin of the support interactions is discussed. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.