Synthesis and characterization of alloy catalyst nanoparticles PtNi/C for oxygen reduction reaction in proton exchange membrane fuel cell

In this report, vulcan XC-72 supported PtNi alloy catalyst nanoparticles were synthesized by electroless deposition method using NaBH4 as a reduction agent. The properties of the synthesized Pt-Ni/C catalysts were investigated and evaluated. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results showed that PtNi alloy catalysts dispersed well on the carbon supports and their particle size was in the range of 4–8 nm. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirmed that the crystal lattice of Pt and PtNi alloy is face centered cubic. In the presence of Ni atom, an XRD pattern showed that structure of PtNi alloy crystal was contracted, which affected the catalyst’s properties. The activity of the catalyst was estimated by electrochemical methods including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV). The electrochemical results indicated that the activity of PtNi/C alloy catalysts toward oxygen reduction reaction on cathode of PEMFC was higher in comparison with Pt/C catalysts.