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A Study on significant role of Ru on MWCNT-supported PtRu electrocatalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation

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Abstract

The composition and atomic structure of nanoalloy electrocatalysts play an important role in the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR). To study this and develop an electrochemically active electrocatalyst towards ethanol electro-oxidation, a second oxophilic metal has generally been initiated as an alloy, capable of enhancing the electrocatalytic activity of platinum. Given the above, the present investigation deals with nanoparticles of PtRu with different bimetallic compositions supported on multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) (C) for their activity on the ethanol electro-oxidation. The structure, morphology, and bonding of the electrocatalysts were studied by XRD, SEM, TEM, EDXRF, and FTIR. Electrochemical methods like cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry (CA), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were used to explore the catalytic activity towards ethanol electro-oxidation. This study focused on establishing the relationship between the electrocatalysts’ composition, atomic structure, and catalytic activity for the EOR. All the results of physical and electrochemical studies revealed an intriguing composition–structure–activity relationship for the PtRu electrocatalysts under EOR experimental conditions. In particular, the alloy with a Pt/Ru ratio of ∼ 84 : 16 was found to exhibit a maximum EOR activity as a function of the bimetallic composition. Notably, the catalytic activities of the C/PtRu electrocatalysts showed a significant improvement during the EOR. The results show a new perspective in the development of C/PtRu electrocatalysts regarding ethanol oxidation reaction which is important for the rational design and synthesis of active nanoalloy electrocatalysts for direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC).

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially carried out using the facilities of UGC-DAE CSR. The authors would also like to express their heartfelt thanks to Dr. Ankan Dutta Chowdhury for providing the instrumental facility regarding electrochemical studies.

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support from UGC-DAE CSR through a Collaborative Research Scheme (CRS) project number CRS/2021-22/02/515 funded to Dr. Susmita Singh.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University, Kolkata, Major Arterial Road (South-East), AA II, Rajarhat, Newtown, West Bengal, 700135, India

    Susmita Singh, Mainak Bose, Sinthia Saha & Anushna Dutta

  2. Department of Physics, Amity Institute of Applied Sciences, Amity University, Kolkata, Major Arterial Road (South-East), AA II, Rajarhat, Newtown, West Bengal, 700135, India

    Moupiya Ghosh

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  1. Susmita Singh
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Contributions

Susmita Singh: conceptualization, resources, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, supervision, validation, and project administration

Moupiya Ghosh: investigation, methodology, formal analysis, and writing—original draft

Mainak Bose: investigation, methodology, and writing—review and editing

Sinthia Saha: investigation, methodology, and writing—review and editing

Anushna Dutta: investigation, methodology, and writing—review and editing

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Correspondence to Susmita Singh.

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Singh, S., Ghosh, M., Bose, M. et al. A Study on significant role of Ru on MWCNT-supported PtRu electrocatalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation. Ionics 29, 5417–5430 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-023-05218-1

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