Facile synthesis of highly dispersed PtSn nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes with excellent ethanol electrooxidation performance

1557-1563Stable and uniform PtSn nanoparticles on the surface of carbon nanotubes with ultrafine particle sizes have been prepared via the ionic liquid polymer method. Morphology and electrochemical properties of the PtSn nanoparticles supported on the ionic liquid (IL) polymer-functionalized carbon nanotubes (PtSn/CNTs-f nanohybrids) have been investigated by transmission electron microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The average diameter of PtSn nanoparticles in the PtSn/CNTs-f nanohybrids is 1.6±0.5 nm, which is much smaller than that deposited on pristine carbon nanotubes (PtSn/CNTs-p nanohybrids, 6±2 nm). The electrochemical active surface area (ESA) of the PtSn/CNTs-f nanohybrids is about twice as high as that of the PtSn/CNTs-p nanohybrids. In comparison to the PtSn/CNTs-p nanohybrids, PtSn/CNTs-f nanohybrids exhibit unexpectedly high activity and stability towards ethanol electrooxidation which may be attributed to the higher dispersion, smaller particle size and higher ESA of the PtSn nanoparticles on the IL polymer functionalized CNTs material. The results indicate that PtSn/CNTs-f nanohybrids are promising anodic electrocatalyst for direct ethanol fuel cells