Monodispersed PtPdNi Trimetallic Nanoparticles-Integrated Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrid Platform for Direct Alcohol Fuel Cell

The direct alcohol fuel cell has recently emerged as an important energy conversion device. In the present article, superior alcohol (ethanol, ethylene glycol, and glycerol) electrooxidation performance using trimetallic platinum–palladium–nickel (PtPdNi) alloy nanoparticles of diameters from 2–4 nm supported on a reduced graphene oxide (rGO) electrocatalyst is demonstrated. A simple and single-step solvothermal technique is adopted to fabricate the alloy/rGO hybrid electrocatalysts by simultaneous reduction of metal ions and graphene oxide. The detailed electrochemical investigation revealed that the performance of the trimetallic/rGO hybrid toward electrooxidation of different alcohols is higher than that of bimetallic alloy/rGO hybrids and the state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst. The incorporation of Ni into the PtPd alloy is found to change the surface of the electronic structure PtPd alloy leading to higher electrochemical surface areas and improved kinetics. In addition, the hydrophilic nature of Ni not only facilitates alcohol electrooxidation but also electrooxidation of residual carbon impurities formed on the catalyst surface, thus reducing catalyst poisoning, demonstrating its role in the development of anode catalysts for the alcohol fuel cells.