Synthesi of Pt-Cu Bimetallic Nanoparticle Catalysts for Direct-Methanol Fuel Cells

The applicability of Direct-Methanol Fuel Cells (DMFC) for small electronic devices, such as cell phones and laptops make them an attractive target for research. The established catalyst of DMFC to induce oxidation-reduction reactions (ORR) has historically been platinum (Pt); however, Pt it is costly and does not perform ORR at an optimal level. Previous work has shown that when Pt is combined with Copper (Cu) to form a Pt3Cu bimetallic nanoparticle (NP) catalyst, the NP shows a high rate of ORR compared to pure Pt. The Rider group plans to synthesize this Pt3Cu bimetallic NP catalyst using their established block copolymer templating method to assess the loading characteristics of the block copolymer and how those physical characteristics affect the electrocatalytic abilities of the NPs. These physical characteristics will be determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and carbon monoxide-stripping cyclic voltammetry (CV) while the electrochemical analysis will be done by steady-state cyclic CV and a rotating disk electrode set-up