Ethanol electrooxidation on carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles catalyst prepared using complexing self-reduction method

Abstract

A novel self-reduction of Pt-complex method is used to prepare Vulcan XC-72 carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles (Pt/C) catalysts by employing ethylenediamine-tetramethylene phosphonic acid (EDTMP) as a complexing reagent. During the preparation of Pt/C catalysts, the particle size of Pt nanoparticles (Pt–NPs) can be controlled effectively in the range of 1.7–13.5 nm by adjusting reaction solution pH values. TEM images demonstrate that the Pt–NPs well disperse on the Vulcan XC-72 carbon support with a relatively narrow particle size distribution by using the complex self-reduction method. Therefore, the Pt/C catalysts prepared by the same method are suitable for evaluating the size effect of the Pt–NPs on electrocatalytic performance for ethanol electrooxidation. A correlation between the electrocatalytic activity of ethanol oxidation and particle size of the Pt/C catalysts indicates that Pt–NPs with mean particle size of ca. 2.5 nm possesses the highest electrocatalytic performance for ethanol electrooxidation.