Synthesis and Evaluation of Co & Sn Bimetallic Catalysts for Carbon Monoxide Oxidation on PEM Fuel Cell Anodic Layer

Commercialization of Polymer Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cells needs to make CO resistance anode catalyst. Recently some researchers use the multi-layer catalyst, which oxidizes the CO molecules by ruthenium on the outer layer and prepares pure hydrogen for the inner platinum layer. In this work, we studied the Sn and Co Bi-metallic catalyst for CO electro-oxidation. Three samples with different composition ratio are synthesized on the carbon Vulcan support. Electrochemical tests conducted in homemade half-cell hiring new test procedure we developed in the previous article. Results show the high capacity of these non-noble metals for CO electro-oxidation in low potentials whereas CO oxidation on commercial Pt/C occurs at potentials above 0.7 volts.In addition, the catalyst containing Sn50%-Co50% has the best results for CO and H2 electro-oxidation in fuel cell working condition.