Pt and PteAg nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotubes (CNT) for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline medium

Abstract

In this work, we investigated the effect of the carbon nanotubes (CNT) as alternative support of cathodes for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline medium. The Pt and Pt-Ag nanomaterials supported on CNT were synthesized by sonochemical method. The crystalline structure, morphology, particle size, dispersion, specific surface area, and composition were investigated by XRD, SEM-EDS, TEM, HR-TEM, N2 adsorption-desorption and XPS characterization. The electrochemical activity for ORR was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in alkaline medium. The electrochemical stability was researched by an accelerated degradation test (ADT). Pt/CNT showed the better electrocatalytic activity towards ORR compared with Pte-g/CNT and Pt/C. Pt/CNT exhibited higher specific activity (1.12 mA cm2 Pt) than Pt/C (0.25 mA cm2 Pt) which can be attributed to smaller particle size, Pt-CNT interaction, and Pt load (5 wt%). The Pt monometallic samples supported on CNT and Vulcan showed higher electrochemical stability after ADT than PteAg bimetallic. The ORR activity of all materials synthesized proceeded through a four-electron pathway. Furthermore, the EIS results showed that Pt/CNT exhibited the lower resistance to the transfer electron compared with conventional Pt/C and PteAg/CNT