Electro-oxidation of ethanol on PtSn/CeO2-C electrocatalyst

PtSn/CeO2-C electrocatalyst was prepared in a single step by an alcohol-reduction process using ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent and CeO2 (15 wt%) and Vulcan XC72 (85 wt%) as supports. The performance for ethanol oxidation was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and in situ FTIR spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic activity of the PtSn/CeO2-C electrocatalyst was higher than that of the PtSn/C electrocatalyst. FTIR studies for ethanol oxidation on PtSn/C electrocatalyst showed that acetaldehyde and acetic acid were the principal products formed, while on PtSn/CeO2-C electrocatalyst the principal products formed were CO2 and acetic acid.