Ruthenium catalysts modified by selenium have been introduced as alternative materials to Pt in Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). RuSe nano-particles were synthesized on the Vulcan XC72R carbon supports via polyol method. The prepared catalysts were electrochemically and physically characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV,) linear sweep voltammetry, methanol tolerance test, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Energydispersive Spectrometer (EDS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Increasing the Se concentration up to 20 at % increased the electro-catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction. By increasing Se amount, Ru metallic form on the surface was increased. The Ru80Se20/C catalysts showed the highest oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity and outstanding methanol tolerant property in half cell tests as well as single cell test.
PtSn/C and Pt5Sn4M/C (M = W, Pd, Ni) electrocatalysts were prepared by impregnation method using NaBH4 as a reducing agent. Chemical composition, crystalline size, and alloy formation were determined by EDX, XRD and TEM. The average particle sizes of the synthesized catalysts were approximately 3.64-4.95 nm. The electro-chemical properties were measured by CO stripping, cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The maximum specific activity of the electro-catalysts for ethanol electro-oxidation was 406.08 mA m(-2) in Pt5Sn4Pd/C. The poisoning rate of the Pt5Sn4Pd/C (0.0017% s(-1)) was 4.5 times lower than that of the PtSn/C (0.0076% s(-1)).
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