Noh et al.
The Study on the Performance of Carbon Supported PtSnM (M = W, Pd, and Ni) Ternary Electro-Catalysts
ꢀ
oxidation compared to PtW/C. Furthermore, at 90 C, the
Pt85Sn8W7/C catalyst gave higher current and power per-
formances as an anode material in a direct ethanol fuel
cell. Colmati et al.18 investigated the electro-oxidation of
ethanol on ternary PtSnRh (1:1:0.3 and 1:1:1) catalysts
using a formic acid process and compared with PtSn and
PtR. From linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), for poten-
tials greater than 0.45 V (vs. RHE), the PtSnRh catalysts
showed the highest activity for ethanol electro-oxidation,
while for potentials lower than 0.45 V (vs. RHE), it was
lower than that of the PtSn catalyst.
method.19 The catalysts are subjected to cyclic voltamme-
try (CV), CO stripping, linear sweep voltammetry (LSV),
and chronoamperometry tests. The CV test is scanned in
a potential range of 0.05–0.8 V (vs. reference hydrogen
electrode (RHE)) at a rate of 15 mV s−1. Nitrogen purged
1.0 M H2SO4 + 1.0 M EtOH solution is used as an elec-
trolyte. CO stripping test is measured in a 1.0 M H2SO4
solution at a scan rate of 15 mV s−1: CO is bubbled
through the working electrode for one hour, while main-
taining a constant voltage of 0.1 V (vs. RHE). The elec-
trolyte is then purged by nitrogen gas (N2ꢁ bubbling for
50 minutes to remove dissolved CO in the electrolyte. LSV
tests are recorded at a scan rate of 5 mV s−1 between
0.05 V and 0.8 V. Chronoamperometry tests are carried
out at 0.5 V for one hour in a solution of 1.0 M H2SO4 +
1.0 M EtOH to evaluate the electro-catalytic activity of
the electro-catalysts and poisoning of the active surface
under continuous operation conditions. All potentials in
this study are converted to RHE scale.
In this paper, ternary alloy electrocatalysts such as
the Pt5Sn4M1 system (M = W, Ni, Pd) were synthesized
by an impregnation method with NaBH4 and designated
Pt5Sn4W1, Pt5Sn4Ni1, and Pt5Sn4Pd1, respectively. For
comparison, a PtSn catalyst was also synthesized using the
same method. Physical properties were analyzed by trans-
mission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction
(XRD), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Electrochemical
properties using a three-electrode half-cell were charac-
terized by CO stripping, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep
voltammetry, and chronoamperometry.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
XRD results of synthesized electro-catalysts are shown in
Figure 1. In all the diffractograms, a broad peak near 25ꢀ
was associated with the (0 0 2) plane of the hexagonal
structure of the carbon black support material. Peaks at 2ꢃ
values of 40ꢀ, 47ꢀ, and 67ꢀ were related to the (111), (200),
2. EXPERIMENTAL DETAILS
Electro-catalysts are synthesized using a conventional
impregnation method and chemically reduced using
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and (220) planes of the face centered cubic (fcc) crystalline
sodium borohydride (NaBH4ꢁ. Vulcan XC72R is dispersed
IP: 91.236.120.144 On: Sat, 11 Jun 2016 21:51:43
Pt and Pt alloys, respectively. Additionally, two peaks were
in a mixture of de-ionized water aCndopiysroigprhotp: yAlmaelcrioc-an Scientific Publishers
observed at 2ꢃ values of 34ꢀ and 52ꢀ which were identified
hol, followed by sonication for 30 min. Metal precursors
are then dissolved in the mixture. The H2PtCl6 · xH2O
(Kojima Chem. Co., City, Country), SnCl3 ·2H2O (Aldrich
Chem. Co., City, State, Country), WCl6 (Aldrich), PdCl2
(Aldrich), and NiCl2 · 6H2O (Aldrich) are used as the Pt,
Sn, W, Pd, and Ni precursors, respectively. The amounts
of metal precursors are adjusted to give a total metal con-
tent in the catalyst of 60 wt%. After the mixture is heated
and stirred for 1 h, it is reduced with a 0.2 mol% NaBH4
solution for 3 h, filtered, and washed with hot de-ionized
as the cassiterite SnO2 phase. Other diffraction peaks for
a third metal such as Pd, W, and Ni in the XRD patterns
were not observed. The diffraction peaks of the ternary
electro-catalysts were shifted slightly to higher 2ꢃ val-
ues compared to that of PtSn/C. The higher angle shifts
of the Pt diffraction peaks revealed the formation of an
alloy involving the incorporation of Sn and other transition
ꢀ
water. Finally, the samples are dried overnight at 80 C.
X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns are recorded on a
Rigaku DMAX-2500 using a Cu Kꢂ radiation source and
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the
synthesized catalysts collected using a JEM2200FS. More-
over, the compositions of the synthesized electro-catalysts
are determined by energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis
using a JSM-6400.
Electrochemical measurements are carried out using a
potentiostat (Bio-Logic, SP-150) at room temperature and
at ambient pressure. Electrochemical studies are performed
with a three electrode cell equipped with a Pt-wire counter
electrode, Ag/AgCl reference electrode (BAS Co., Ltd.,
MF-2052 RE-5B), and a glassy carbon working elec-
trode (3 mm diameter, BAS Co., Ltd., MF-2012). The
working electrodes are prepared by the thin-film electrode
Figure 1. XRD patterns of PtSn/C, Pt5Sn4W/C, Pt5Sn4Pd/C, and
Pt5Sn4Ni/C.
J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 16, 4516–4522, 2016
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