M-L. CHELAGHMIA, M. NACEF, H. FISLI, A-M. AFFOUNE, M. PONTIE, A. MAKHLOUF, T. DERABLA, O. KHELIFIand F. AISSAT
The Royal Society of Chemistry
Received 26th August 2020 , Accepted 26th September 2020
Abstract
Platinum (Pt) and platinum–nickel (Pt–Ni) electrocatalysts were prepared on activated graphite electrodes by an electrochemical deposition process. The electrocatalysts were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The electrocatalytic activity of the prepared electrocatalysts, their stability, and the effect of temperature toward ethanol and 2-propanol oxidation were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed that the Pt–Ni/C exhibited higher catalytic activity, better stability and better tolerance to poisoning by ethanol and 2-propanol oxidation intermediate species compared to Pt/C, which was interpreted as synergistic and electronic effects between Pt and Ni. A study of the temperature dependence of ethanol and 2-propanol oxidation in the temperature range of 298–318 K, shows that the apparent activation energy for ethanol and 2-propanol oxidation on Pt–Ni/C was lower than on Pt/C. The results also revealed that the electro-oxidation of ethanol and 2-propanol on Pt/C were improved by raising the temperature and Ni modification.
DOI: 10.1039/D0RA07331H