Electro-oxidation of ethanol at sputter-deposited platinum-tin catalysts

The electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied in Pt/Sn catalysts, prepared by sputter-deposition. The performances of four different Pt/Sn catalysts in the proportions of 95/5, 80/20, 50/50, and 25/75 were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Pt-50/Sn-50 appears to be the best electrocatalyst among the four studied alloys; the current density of the ethanol oxidation peak is the highest for Pt-50/Sn-50, and this catalyst also reveals the lowest charge-transfer resistance, which tends to decrease in spite of the application of higher potentials. (c) 2007 The Electrochemical Society.