Synthesis and characterization of ternary Pt-alloy nano particles for hydrogen fuel cell application

Abstract

A novel ternary PtM₂ nano structures was prepared using simple salvothermal process. The alloy formation has been ascertained using different characterizations techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Tunneling electron microscope TEM, Scanning electron microscope SEM, EDX. The XRD pattern reveals that, the peak position was shifted to higher 2? angle specifying the presence of Co and Ni into the lattice to form an ordered L₁₀ phase with a reduced Pt-Pt distance. The thickness of the alloy was found to be ~4.3nm and interplaner distance of ~0.23nm which correlate with TEM analysis with an average particle size ~20nm and distribution of the catalyst on carbon support was also investigated by TEM images. SEM was used to obtain the surface morphology of the synthesized catalyst as well the amount of metallic loaded from EDX.

Key words; Platinum, Cobalt, Nickel on Carbon Support (PCN/C), Platinum, Cobalt and Nickel for 8 hour (PCN-8h), Commercial Platinum on Carbon Support (Pt/C), Oxidation Reduction Reaction (ORR), PEMFC, SEM, EDX, TEM, XRD.