Direct alcohol fuel cells as chemical reactors for the sustainable production of energy and chemicals

The selective production of chemicals from biomasses with contemporaneous release of energy can be accomplished for a variety of renewable alcohols by means of direct fuel cells in alkaline environment. In such devices, an anode electrocatalyst based on nanosized Pd particles, alone or promoted by Ni-Zn phases, promotes the partial oxidation of the alcohol to the corresponding carboxylate. The direct alcohol fuel cells described in this report are able to provide power densities up to 60 mW cm-2 at room temperature and up to 160 mW cm-2 at 80°C.