Deposition of PdPtAu Nanoparticles on Hollow Nanospheres of Fe3O4 as a New Catalyst for Methanol Electrooxidation: Application in Direct Methanol Fuel Cell

In this study, immobilized hollow nanospheres of Fe₃O₄ with Palladium, Platinum and Gold nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtAuNPs) was synthesized by hydrothermal and chemical reduction methods and characterized by various techniques such as field emission scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive analysis of X‐rays and elemental mapping images. The electrocatalytic activity of the modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtAuNPs (GCE/Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtAuNPs) toward methanol electrooxidation was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in 1 M NaOH solution. According to the results, Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtAuNPs catalyst demonstrated the highest efficiency for methanol electrooxidation in comparison with Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdNPs, Fe₃O₄HNS‐PtNPs, Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdAuNPs, Fe₃O₄HNS‐PtAuNPs and Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtNPs. The value of electron transfer coefficient (α ) and the ratio of current densities (I_f /I_b ) for methanol oxidation on the Fe₃O₄HNS‐PdPtAuNPs/GC catalyst were calculated 0.61 and 5.13, respectively. The reaction order was discovered to be 0.98 for CH₃OH. A direct methanol fuel cell was developed with the suggested catalyst under several conditions.