Rh-decorated PtIrOx nanoparticles for glycerol electrooxidation: Searching for a stable and active catalyst

CINTHIA R. ZANATA; PABLO S. FERNÁNDEZ; HORACIO E. TROIANI; ANALÍA L. SOLDATI; RICHARD LANDERS; GIUSEPPE A. CAMARA; ADRIANA E. CARVALHO; CAUÊ A. MARTINS

APPLIED CATALYSIS B-ENVIRONMENTAL

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2016

0926-3373

We report a fast method of producing rhodium-decorated platinum nanoparticles (NPs) containingiridium oxides (IrOx) to be used in the glycerol electrooxidation reaction. We synthesize PtIrOx/C electrocatalystsof different atomic compositions dispersed on Carbon Vulcan XC-72R® by using the fastpolyol method assisted by microwaves. Afterwards, PtIrOx/C was potentiodynamically decorated byRh (Rh/PtIrOx/C). The NPs are characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, Xrayphotoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The electrooxidation of glycerolwas investigated in acid medium by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The electrochemicalstability of Rh/PtIrOx/C NPs was evaluated by following a degradation test protocol, which consists inexhaustive cyclic voltammetries. Our results show that the presence of iridium oxides in the architectureof platinum enhances the electrochemical stability of the catalyst by avoiding agglomeration effects.Moreover, the presence of rhodium catalyzes the glycerol electrooxidation reaction. These results helpunderstanding the role of Rh and IrOx in the glycerol electrooxidation and provide new insights fordesigning nanomaterials with improved stability and activity.©