A study of the anodic oxidation of methanol on Pt in alkaline solutions

In this study, the electro-oxidation of methanol was carried out on a platinised electrode in various alkaline media to examine the role of OHads species and the influence of anions in the electrolyte on the methanol oxidation reaction. Cyclic voltammetry, steady state and quasi-steady state polarisation, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy methods were used to investigate the reaction kinetics and mechanism. The activity of the methanol oxidation reaction in aqueous alkaline systems was observed to vary with the pH or OH species coverage on the electrode surface. The activity decreased in the order of NaOH>Na2CO3>NaHCO3.