| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 183857 | Electrochimica Acta | 2015 | 6 Pages |
•Pt3Cu/C synthesized by thermal reduction, chemical reduction or alloying method.•Multi wall carbon nanotubes used as carbon support.•Pt3Cu/C by chemical reduction shows the best mass activity.•The lower the Pt particle size the higher the mass activity.
Pt3Cu nanoparticles are deposited on multi wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) according to three different types of synthesis: a thermal reduction using an aprotic solvent (“thermal method”, TM), a chemical reduction using sodium borohydride (“chemical method”, CM), and an alloy method (“alloy method”, AM). The catalysts are characterized by means of BET, FESEM, EDX, XRD, ICP-MS and XPS analyses. The obtained catalysts display a Pt loading of 19.6–19.8 wt.%, with a Pt/Cu atomic ratio of 2.60–2.80. The electrocatalytic activity towards ORR is assessed by RDE in acid conditions (0.1 M HClO4). The best activity belongs to the Pt3Cu/C catalyst prepared by chemical reduction method (–10.300 mA mg−1Pt) at 900 mV, IR corrected.
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