Electrocatalytic Promotion of Pt Nanoparticles by Incorporation of Ni(OH)₂ for Glycerol Electro‐Oxidation: Analysis of Activity and Reaction Pathway

Abstract

Abstract In this work, the effect of Pt−Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles on the activity and reaction pathway of glycerol oxidation was studied. For this purpose, small Pt (4±0.2 nm) and Pt−Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles (4.7±0.4 nm) supported on Vulcan carbon were synthesized. Ni(OH) 2 were found in the vicinity of Pt modifying the lattice parameter, inter‐planar distance and binding energy of Pt. Electrochemical evaluation indicated that Pt−Ni(OH) 2 /C had better electrocatalytic activity than Pt/C offering a higher current density (almost 45 mA mg −1 ), and lower onset (−0.3 V) and oxidation peak potentials (0.04 V). The improved activity was associated to the OH groups found in the vicinity of Pt active sites, facilitating the charge transfer due to a bifunctional mechanism. The in situ evaluation confirmed that the incorporation of Ni(OH) 2 led to higher electron transfer due to short‐chain byproducts such as glycolate, mesoxalate and formate, which were found at the oxidation peak potential.