Preparation and characterization of Pt–Rare Earth/C electrocatalysts using an alcohol reduction process for methanol electro-oxidation

Pt–Rare Earth/C electrocatalysts (Rare Earth = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho and Er) were prepared by an alcohol reduction process using ethylene glycol as reduction agent and solvent and Vulcan XC72 as support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electro-oxidation of methanol was studied in acid medium by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using thin porous coating technique. The XRD patterns indicate that all electrocatalysts present the face-centered cubic (fcc) structure of Pt and the presence of Rare Earth hydroxides. PtEr/C, PtTb/C, PtLa/C, PtDy/C and PtNd/C electrocatalysts prepared by this methodology showed superior performance for methanol electro-oxidation at room temperature compared to Pt/C.