Organometallic precursor route for the fabrication of PtSn bimetallic nanotubes and Pt3Sn/reduced-graphene oxide nanohybrid thin films at oil–water interface and study of their electrocatalytic activity in methanol oxidation

Abstract

This report discusses synthesis of PtSn nanotubes and Pt3Sn reduced-graphene oxide (RGO) nanohybrid thin films via a simple reduction of organometallic precursors including [PtCl2(cod)], (cod = cis, cis-1,5-cyclooctadiene), in the presence of [Sn(CH3)4] at toluene–water interface. The structure and morphology of the thin films were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) techniques. TEM measurements revealed that the PtSn bimetallic thin films contain nanotubes with diameters in the 8–10 nm range and 200–800 nm in length. However, TEM image of Pt3Sn/RGO bimetallic nanohybrid thin films showed a good distribution of bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) on the RGO support with average diameter of 8 nm. The electrocatalytical activities of tin alloys thin films were evaluated using methanol as model molecule. The PtSn nanotubes and Pt3Sn/RGO nanohybrid thin films show a higher catalytic activity in methanol oxidation reaction than that for the Pt NPs films with the lower Pt loading.