Trimetallic PtTiMg Alloy Nanoparticles with High Activity for Efficient Electrocatalytic Ethanol Oxidation

Abstract

Although nanostructures based on noble metal alloys are widely used in the anode catalysts of direct ethanol fuel cells, their commercialization remains a remarkable challenge due to their high cost and poor durability. We describe the successful synthesis of trimetallic PtTiMg alloy nanoparticles with adjustable composition using a simple one-step three-target magnetron co-sputtering method. Various physical characterization and electrochemical methods were used to investigate the structure/composition and electrochemical properties of the obtained PtTiMg alloy catalysts toward ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). The PtTiMg alloy catalyst demonstrated excellent electrocatalytic activity and high durability when the Mg content was 2.76%, (after 3000 cycles, retained 91% of its electrochemical surface area). Furthermore, the electrochemically active surface area and peak current density of the PtTiMg alloy catalyst are 1.5 and 0.8 times higher than those of the commercial pure Pt catalyst, respectively. Furthermore, the long-term strong acid immersion test demonstrated that the PtTiMg alloy catalysts retain high electrocatalytic activity in harsh environments, demonstrating the potential application of the obtained PtTiMg alloy catalysts for EOR.