Synthesis and electrochemical study of PtIr nanomaterials

Abstract

Nanomaterials have a number of unique chemical and physical properties and have attracted tremendous attention due to their potential for applications in a variety of areas including fuel cell and biosensor development. The focus of this work was the design of novel platinum iridium electrocatalysts with high electrocatalytic activity towards the key electrochemical processes in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) and glucose sensors. N anoporous Ptlr electrodes with different ratios of Pt to Ir were prepared on Ti and carbon nanotube (CNT) substrates using a one-step facile hydrothermal method. The nanostructure and morphology of the fabricated electrocatalysts were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDS), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Electrochemical analyses were performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoamperometry (CA), linear voltammetry (LV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS).