Preparation, characterization and application of PteRueSn/C trimetallic electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in direct fuel cell E.M. Cunha a , J. Ribeiro b , K.B. Kokoh c , A.R. de Andrade a, * a Departamento de Quı´mica da, Faculdade de Filosofia, Cie ˆncias e Letras de Ribeira ˜ o Preto, Universidade de Sa ˜ o Paulo, Av. Bandeirantes 3900, 14040-901 Ribeira ˜o Preto, SP, Brazil b Departamento de Quı´mica, Centro de Cie ˆncias Exatas/UFES, Av. Fernando Ferrari, 514 Goiabeiras, Vito ´ria/ES 29075-910, Brazil c Equipe E-lyse, LaCCO-UMR n  6503 CNRS, Universite ´ de Poitiers, 4 rue Michel Brunet, B27-BP 633, 86022 Poitiers Cedex, France article info Article history: Received 25 March 2011 Received in revised form 31 May 2011 Accepted 2 June 2011 Available online 30 June 2011 Keywords: PtRuSn nanoparticles Ethanol oxidation Ternary electrocatalysts Direct ethanol fuel cell Pechini method abstract This work aimed to develop a method for the preparation of carbon-supported platinum nanocatalysts modified with Ruthenium and Tin, which were then evaluated for ethanol eletrooxidation in direct fuel cells. The Pechini method was employed to obtain these catalysts. This method consists in the decomposition of a polymeric precursor of metal salts. Nanocatalysts containing different Pt/Ru/Sn molar ratios were prepared by keeping the carbon/metal ratio at a constant value of 60/40%. The obtained nanoparticles were physico-chemically characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), and Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX). Crystallite size of around 7.0 nm and 5.8 nm were achieved for the bimetallic and trimetallic nanocatalysts, respectively. The experimental composition was close to the nominal one, but the metal particles were not evenly distributed on the carbon surface. Electrochemical character- ization of the nanoparticles was accomplished by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chro- noamperometry. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) was carried out after ethanol electrolysis for determining the products generated. Acetaldehyde was the main electrolysis product and traces of CO 2 and acetic acid were also detected. Addition of Ru and Sn to the pure Pt nanoelectrocatalyst significantly improved its performance in ethanol oxidation. The onset potential for ethanol electrooxidation was 0.2 V vs. RHE, in the case of the trimetallic nanocatalyst Pt 0.8 Ru 0.1 Sn 0.1 /C, which was lower than that obtained for the pure Pt catalyst (0.45 V vs. RHE). Copyright ª 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Fuel cell research saw a great improvement at the end of 1960 when NASA developed practical working fuel cells for use in space flights. These efforts culminated in the first Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC). Thereafter, many companies have been devoted to the development of direct alcohol fuel cells, and methanol is mainly employed as fuel for direct alcohol fuel cell (DAFC). Considering the world economy, there is great interest in obtaining new energy sources that combine high efficiency with reduction of environmental impacts. Although fuel cells * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ55 16 36023725; fax: þ55 16 36013848. E-mail address: ardandra@ffclrp.usp.br (A.R. de Andrade). Available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/he international journal of hydrogen energy 36 (2011) 11034 e11042 0360-3199/$ e see front matter Copyright ª 2011, Hydrogen Energy Publications, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ijhydene.2011.06.011