Ethanol electrooxidation on Pt(111)-supported SnOx: A surface science approach to study the metal oxide-metal interaction in electrocatalysis

Recent studies demonstrated that the SnOx promoted Pt electrocatalysts have high performance in ethanol electrooxidation and may have the potential for use in direct ethanol fuel cells. However, the nature of the active phase in SnOx/Pt nanocatalysts still remains elusive and their performance is highly dependent on the preparation methods and activation conditions. To examine the activity - SnOx-Pt interaction correlation, we used a surface science approach to prepare and characterize the model catalyst system consisting of SnOx nanoislands grown on a Pt(111) electrode. The SnOx/Pt(111) model systems were characterized using XPS and LEIS and then the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) was studied under electrochemical conditions without exposure to air. Correlating the surface properties of the SnOx/Pt(111) electrode with the observed EOR activity will provide critical information for improving the understanding of SnOx-Pt interaction in the EOR reaction. A detailed discussion of these findings will be presented at the meeting.