Preparation and characterization of platinum alloy catalysts supported on N-doped reduced graphene oxide for Anode in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC)

Abstract

Abstract Pt bimetallic nanoparticles supported on N-doped reduced graphene oxide (NrGO) can increase catalytic activities in Anode for Hydrogen Fuel Cell, also in Direct Ethanol Fuel Cell (DEFC) when compare with Pt nanoparticles. In this study, PtNi and PtRu nanoparticles supported on NrGO can be prepared by microwave-assisted method while PtSn nanoparticles supported on NrGO can be prepared by NaBH4 reduction method. NrGO can be prepared by Modified Hummers Method, then reduced by annealing under Nitrogen gas atmosphere and N-added by annealing with melamine. The X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) patterns display the alloy forms of Pt-M alloy nanoparticles (M = Ni, Sn, Ru), which can be confirmed by Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) data and electron diffraction (SAD) patterns. Particle sizes were measured from TEM images. Hence, this paper presents the average particle sizes of PtNi = 14.58±14.33 nm, PtRu = 6.01±1.44 nm and PtSn = 5.24±0.81 nm. Catalytic activity of these materials will be tested by fuel cell test station to confirm the superior activity over commercial Pt/C catalyst.