PtSn Nanoalloy Thin Films as Anode Catalysts in Methanol Fuel Cells
Nahal Aramesh, S. Jafar Hoseini, Hamid R. Shahsavari, S. Masoud Nabavizadeh, Mehrangiz Bahrami, Mohammad Reza Halvagar, Elvira De Giglio, Mario Latronico, Piero Mastrorilli
Abstract
Reactions of SnX2 (X = Cl, Br) with [PtMe2(bipy)], 1, (bipy = 2,2′-bipyridine), followed by NaBH4 reduction at the toluene/water interface in the presence or absence of graphene oxide support rendered PtSn nanoalloy thin films. They were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrocatalytical activity of the PtSn thin films was investigated in the methanol oxidation reaction. Our studies showed that the PtSn/reduced-graphene oxide (RGO) thin film gave better catalytic results for MOR in comparison to bare PtSn or Pt thin films. A maximum jf/jb ratio (jf and jb are the maximum current densities in the forward and backward scans, respectively) of 6.77 was obtained for the PtSn/RGO thin film deriving from the 1 + SnBr2 + NaBH4 sequence.