The activity of ALD-prepared PtCo catalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media

Controlled bimetallic catalyst materials can be obtained using atomic layer deposition (ALD) method. In this paper, this method was applied to prepare Pt, PtCo, and PtCoPt nanoparticle catalysts on carbon support. Their activity for ethanol oxidation was studied by various electrochemical methods and the dependency of the reaction on temperature and mass transfer was evaluated. In addition, FTIR analysis was performed to confirm the reaction products. The results showed that bimetallic PtCo enhances ethanol oxidation by increasing the amount of CO2 produced; however, at elevated temperatures, the bimetallic PtCo catalyst lacked stability. Nevertheless, the ALD-prepared PtCoPt catalyst showed similar reaction mechanism as PtCo catalyst, but possess increased stability and superior performance for ethanol oxidation at elevated temperatures.