Electrocatalytic Activity of Electrodeposited Trimetallic Ni-Fe-Sn in Ethanol

Although platinum exhibits high electrocatalytic activity toward the electrooxidation of ethanol, its high cost then susceptibility near exterminating by CO species have driven the development of non-precious metal-based electrocatalysts as an alternative. A trimetallic electrocatalyst containing Nickel (Ni), Iron (Fe), and Tin (Sn) was prepared via an electrodeposition method and evaluated for the electrooxidation of ethanol. Electrocatalytic activity for ethanol electro-oxidation (EOR) was evaluated using CV, LSV, and EIS in a 1 M KOH + 1 M ethanol solution. The Ni-Fe-Sn electrocatalyst exhibited a lower Tafel slope of 38.42 mV/dec, an small Rct value of 2.15 Ω. Furthermore, the sustained activity over 100 cycles CV testing indicate good electrocatalytic performance. Thus, this work reveals the catalytic performance of the new non-noble Ni-Fe-Sn electrocatalysts towards EOR which may offer innovative concepts to adapt additional prevailing and novel catalysts at some point.