PtNiRu/SnO₂ Nanoframes as Anodic Catalyst for Direct Ethanol Fuel Cells

Searching for new energy sources and improving the already existing ones are among the most important tasks in physics, material sciences, and chemistry. These three disciplines especially come together in the development of new catalytic materials for fuel cell applications. Herein, a novel nanoframe-based PtNiRu/SnO2 catalyst for ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) is proposed. Owing to properties resulting from chemical composition, shape, and structure, the catalyst shows enhanced electrocatalytic performance. The presented nanocatalyst is obtained from solid rhombic dodecahedral nanoparticles during galvanic replacement reaction with the following SnO2 nanoparticles deposition on its surface. PtNiRu/SnO2, as well as PtNiRu catalyst, were characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction and tested electrochemically. PtNiRu/SnO2 nanocatalysts exhibit the highest activity toward EOR and have the lowest onset potential among all of the tested catalysts. The achieved results suggest that the presented nanocatalysts could find application as an anode in a direct ethanol fuel cell for ethanol oxidation.