Atividade e estabilidade proeminentes de nanopartículas de PtIrOx decoradas com Rh para eletro-oxidação de glicerol

Abstract

In this work, we reported a fast method of producing rhodium-decorated platinum nanoparticles (NPs) containing iridium oxides (IrOx) towards glycerol electrooxidation reaction. PtIrO x/C electrocatalysts of different atomic composition dispersed on Carbon Vulcan XC-72R ® were prepared by using the fast polyol method assisted by microwaves. Afterwards, PtIrO x/C was potentio-dynamically decorated with Rh (Rh/PtIrOx/C). The NPs were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The electrooxidation of glycerol was investigated in acid medium by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The electrochemical stability of Rh/PtIrO x/C NPs was evaluated by following a degradation test protocol, which consists in exhaustiv e cyclic voltammetries. Our results show that the presence of iridium oxides in the architecture of platinum enhances the electrochemical stability of the catalyst by avoiding agglomeration effects. Moreover, the presence of rhodium facilitates the glycerol electrooxidation reaction. These results help understanding the role of Rh and IrOx in the glycerol electrooxidation and supply new insights for designing nanomaterials with improved stability and activity.