A new simple preparation of platinum-nickel alloy nanoparticles and their characterization as an electrocatalyst for methanol oxidation

Pt-Ni alloy nanoparticles were produced by casting 2 or 10 mM H2PtCl6 solutions on a Ni column. The apparent particle size for the resultant Pt-Ni alloys increased with the concentration of the H2PtCl6 solution, while the content of Pt in the alloy decreased. The potential sweeps of 5 cycles in an H2SO4 aqueous solution for Pt-Ni (2 mM)/Ni and Pt-Ni (10 mM)/Ni electrodes led to electrochemical behavior similar to a polycrystalline Pt electrode, suggesting the formation of a few thin Pt layers on each Pt-Ni alloy surface. In electrochemical measurements, both Pt-Ni/Ni electrodes showed more negative onset potential of methanol oxidation and slower degradation of oxidation current of methanol than the polycrystalline Pt electrode. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy of both Pt-Ni/Ni electrodes showed the shift of Pt4f peaks to a higher binding energy, suggesting that the increase in the d vacancy in the balance band 5d orbital of Pt contributed to the improved electrocatalytic activity and durability of the Pt-Ni/Ni electrodes.