Evaluating the electrochemical characteristics of babassu coconut mesocarp ethanol produced to be used in fuel cells

The aim of the present study is to assess the potential of ethanol deriving from the mesocarp of babassu coconut to be used in fuel cells. Babassu ethanol was generated through hydrolysis and fermentation processes. The Pt, Pt Rh and Pt Ru electrodes were prepared in carbon Vulcan XC72R through the reduction method and applied as electrocatalysts in ethanol oxidation reaction. X-Ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX), stripping CO, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and online differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) were used to characterize the synthesized electrocatalysts. The electrocatalyst Pt80Ru20/C presented larger active area and higher catalytic activity than other studied materials. The current efficiency of CO₂ production rated less than 1% in all studied electrocatalysts, thus showing that babassu ethanol oxidation produces less pollutants than the commercial ethanol. (author)