Electrocatalysts for fuel cells

A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requiring a continuous source of fuel and oxygen (usually from air) to sustain the chemical reaction, whereas in a battery the chemical energy usually comes from substances that are already present in the battery. Fuel cells can produce electricity continuously for as long as fuel and oxygen are supplied. 

Considering this information, our lab aims to study the nucleation and growth mechanisms of metals from a mixture of metal salts and deep eutectic solvents onto a glass carbon electrode using electrochemical methods such as cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). SEM, EDS, and Raman spectroscopy were carried out to characterize the surface electrodeposit of metal onto the glassy carbon electrode (GCE), in terms of morphology, chemical composition, and oxidation states, respectively. Electrocatalytic behavior was studied by modifying the GCE with electrodeposited metal from EG solutions using CV and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) measurements in acidic and alkaline media.