In situ spectroscopy studies of ethanol oxidation reaction using a single fuel cell/ATR-FTIR setup

This work presents a new method to study the ethanol oxidation reaction in a functional fuel cell adapting the single cell on an ATR-FTIR accessory. Using this configuration it was possible to observe the formation of the main products — acetaldehyde and acetic acid — and also measure the decay of the ethanol concentration at various temperatures. Furthermore, it was ascertained that the increment of power density with the temperature increase in the Pt/C anode fuel cell favors the acetaldehyde production. The proposed setup is a very promising characterization technique for studies of in situ electrochemical oxidation of small organic molecules.