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

In this work, a series of Pt–CuO(x)/C materials with different metal oxide contents were evaluated as electrocatalysts for the glycerol oxidation reaction (GOR) in an alkaline medium. CuO nanoparticles of ca. 6 nm were prepared by a precipitation/calcination route and incorporated into the carbon support with a weight percentage from 0 to 30. Platinum nanoparticles of ca. 3 nm were deposited over the different hybrid CuO(x)/C materials via the ethylene glycol reduction under pulsed microwave heating conditions. The electrochemical experiments showed that the onset potential for the GOR on the bimetallic Pt–CuO(x)/C electrodes is shifted negatively by ca. 160 mV, and the charge transfer resistance is significantly reduced compared to Pt/C, indicating that CuO facilitates both the electron 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 retained more than 90% of its initial activity after an accelerated cycling test.