Synthesis and characterization of enhanced carbon nanotube-supported PtRuBi alloy catalyst for ethylene glycol electrooxidation

Abstract

At present, carbon nanotube (CNT)-supported Pt-based catalysts are prepared by the sodium borohydride (SBH) method for catalytic ethylene glycol (EG) electrooxidation. The structural and morphology surface analyses of these catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive Xray (SEM-EDX) and mapping analysis, transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). In addition, the catalytic activity and electrochemical surface area (ECSA) of the catalysts are examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The 10 % PtRuBi(80-10-10)/CNT catalyst exhibited the best catalytic activity with a specific activity of 6.10 mA/cm2 and an ECSA value of 488.42 m2/g. Furthermore, it is observed that it exhibited the best stability and resistance by chronoamperometry (CA) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses. It can be a promising anode catalyst for direct EG fuel cells.