Carbon-Supported Pt Nanoparticles Modified with CuO for the Electrooxidation of Glycerol in Alkaline Electrolyte

Abstract

In this work, a series of Pt−CuO(x)/C materials with different metaloxide contents were evaluated as electrocatalysts for the glycerol oxidation reaction(GOR) in an alkaline medium. CuO nanoparticles of ca. 6 nm were prepared by aprecipitation/calcination route and incorporated into the carbon support with aweight percentage from 0 to 30. Platinum nanoparticles of ca. 3 nm were depositedover the different hybrid CuO(x)/C materials via the ethylene glycol reductionunder pulsed microwave heating conditions. The electrochemical experimentsshowed that the onset potential for the GOR on the bimetallic Pt−CuO(x)/Celectrodes is shifted negatively by ca. 160 mV, and the charge transfer resistance issignifcantly reduced compared to Pt/C, indicating that CuO facilitates both theelectron charge transfer kinetics and the oxidation of the adsorbed intermediates.The most active electrode material, Pt−CuO(30)/C (30 wt % CuO on carbon),developed 3.5 times higher activity than Pt/C. This bimetallic electrode retainedmore than 90% of its initial activity after an accelerated cycling test.