Nitrogen-doped Hollow Carbon Hemisphere Supporting PtSn Nanoparticles with a Tunable Microstructure to Effectively Improve Electrocatalytic Performance for Ethanol Oxidation

Herein, a series of nitrogen-doped hollow carbon hemispheres (HCHs) were prepared using silica as template, asphalt and urea as carbon and nitrogen source. The obtained different nitrogen content HCHs were then applied for supports of PtSn nanoparticles catalyst for ethanol oxidation in acid media. The PtSn nanoparticles were evenly deposited on HCHs with a narrow size distribution. Tunable size and distribution of the PtSn catalysts were obtained by adjusting nirtrogen content. Among all the synthesized PtSn catalysts, nitrogen content was the highest when the mass ratio of asphalt to urea was 2:1. The electrochemical analysis illustrated that the catalyst with highest nirtrogen content presented best electrocatalytic activity and stability for ethanol oxidation in acid media, providing that the HCHs with unique hollow structure and optimum nitrogen doping content can effectively improve the ethanol electrocatalytic activity and stability.