Abstract

Although considerable effort has been devoted to developing bifunctional electrocatalysts with enhanced atomic utilization in ethanol fuel cells, significant progress in this field has been hindered by notable drawbacks of the electrocatalysts, such as low stability, poor activity, and inefficient repeatability for multiple startup and shutdown cycles. Considering these issues herein, a novel nanosized GaPtMnP alloy anchored on N-doped multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is developed. The average size of the spherical GaPtMnP alloy nanoparticles is ≈3.5 nm. The atomic structure and d-band shift of Pt in the GaPtMnP alloy are demonstrated using state-of-the-art density functional theory calculations. Cyclic voltammetry analysis revealed that GaPtMnP/N-MWCNT delivered high mass and specific activities of 9.16 A mgPt−1 and 10.4 mA cm−2, respectively, in 0.3 m H2SO4 + 0.5 m ethanol, values that are ≈13- and 8-fold higher than the corresponding values for Pt/C. In addition, it exhibits long-term stability and durability even after 3000 cycles. A single cell based on the GaPtMnP/N-MWCNT anodic electrocatalyst exhibits a peak power density of 86.64 mW cm−2, which is approximately fourfold higher than that of Pt/C at 70 °C. Furthermore, the performance of a fuel cell comprising the GaPtMnP/N-MWCNT catalyst remained constant even after multiple startup–shutdown cycles.