The role of Sn, Ru and Ir on the ethanol electrooxidation on Pt3M/TiCN electrocatalysts

In the present work, titanium carbonitride (TiCN) that possesses good electrical conductivity and high corrosion resistance has been used to anchor Pt3M (M: Ir, Sn, Ru) nanoparticles to study the ethanol electrooxidation reaction. Electrocatalysts were prepared by the polyol method and physicochemical characterized by TEM, FEM, ICP-OES, XRD and XPS analysis. Noble metal deposition onto the catalyst support produced metallic particle sizes between 3 and 6 nm and an increment of surface TiO2. The electrochemical characterization was performed by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry techniques. Results revealed that, besides the beneficial effect provided by the catalysts support, the activity toward ethanol electrooxidation was highly dependent on the second metal and directly related to CO tolerance. The performance toward ethanol oxidation reaction was found to increase in the following way: Pt3Ir/TiCN << Pt3Ru/TiCN << Pt3Sn/TiCN.