Pt-CeO2/C and Pt-Nb2O5/C as electrocatalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation

Virginija Kepenienė; Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė; Jūratė Vaičiūnienė; Vidas Pakštas; Eugenijus Norkus

doi:10.6001/chemija.2016.27.1.5

Virginija Kepenienė
Loreta Tamašauskaitė-Tamašiūnaitė
Jūratė Vaičiūnienė
Vidas Pakštas
Eugenijus Norkus

DOI: https://doi.org/10.6001/chemija.2016.27.1.5

Keywords: platinum, cerium(IV) oxide, niobium(V) oxide, electrocatalysts, ethanol electro-oxidation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the activity of CeO2/C and Nb2O5/C supported platinum nanoparticles composites, prepared by the rapid microwave synthesis method, towards the oxidation of ethanol in an alkaline medium. The electrocatalytic activity of the Pt-CeO2/C and Pt-Nb2O5/C catalysts with respect to the electro-oxidation of ethanol was investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry. The electrochemical behaviour of the synthesized catalysts towards the oxidation of ethanol was compared with that of a carbon supported bare Pt catalyst. X-ray Diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy were used to determine the structure, shape and the size of catalysts particles. Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) was employed to determine the composition of the synthesized catalysts.
It has been found that the both investigated Pt-CeO2/C and Pt-Nb2O5/C catalysts show a higher activity towards the electro-oxidation of ethanol when compared with that of the Pt/C catalyst, the Pt- Nb2O5/C catalyst being most active.