Electrochemical Promotion of the low temperature water-gas shift reaction on Pt/YSZ

S. SOUENTIE; L. LIZARRAGA; J.L. VALVERDE; P. VERNOUX

Montreal

Encuentro; 219th Electrochemical Society Meeting; 2011

Electrochemical Society

Electrochemical promotion of catalysis (EPOC) or NEMCA effect (Non-Faradaic Electrochemical Modification of Catalytic Activity) is a very promising concept for boosting actual catalytic processes and advancing the frontiers of catalysis. This innovative field aims to significantly modify both the activity and selectivity of catalysts in a reversible and controlled manner. EPOC utilizes solid electrolyte materials as catalyst carriers. Ionic species from the electrolyte support are electrochemically supplied to the catalyst surface and act as promoting agents to modify the catalyst work function and thus its catalytic activity. Recently it has been established the very close relationship of EPOC with metal-support interactions (MSI), where EPOC can be considered as electrochemically-controlled MSI. The technologies of production and purification of hydrogen will be of great importance in the hydrogenenergy society in the near future. The water-gas shift(WGS) reaction, via which hydrogen is produced from water in presence of CO, is a key technology in the hydrogen purification processes of syn-gases obtained by steam reforming or partial oxidation of hydrocarbons [1,2]. The WGS is moderately exothermic reaction and thus, is thermodynamically favored at low temperatures. This study reports the electrochemical promotion of WGS utilizing a fuel-cell type Pt/YSZ/Pt electrocatalytic reactor at temperatures from 300 to 400°C.