Beneficial effects of rhodium and tin oxide on carbon supported platinum catalysts for ethanol electrooxidation

This work investigates ethanol electrooxidation on Pt/C, PtxRhy/C, Pt-SnO2/C, and PtxRhy-SnO2/C catalysts synthesized by the Pechini and microwave-assisted polyol methods. The catalysts are characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The electrochemical properties of these electrode materials are examined by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry experiments in acid medium. The products obtained during ethanol electrolysis are identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The adsorbed intermediates are evaluated by an in situ reflectance Infrared Spectroscopy technique combined with cyclic voltammetry. Catalysts performance in a direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) is also assessed. The electrical performance of the electrocatalysts in a single DEFC at 80 degrees C decreases in the following order Pt70Rh30SnO2 > Pt80Rh20SnO2 > Pt60Rh40SnO2 similar to PtSnO2 > PtxRhy similar to Pt, showing that the presence of SnO2 enhances the ability of Pt to catalyze ethanol electrooxidation. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.