Chemical deposition of nickel platinum alloy on the surface of TiO₂ nanotubes as a catalyst for methanol oxidation

This work demonstrates the chemical deposited of nickel platinum alloy NiPt/TONs on the surface of titanium oxides nanotubes (TONs) support pre-fabricated by anodic oxidation of Ti foil in HF solution followed by annealing in air and in N₂ atmosphere. The structural, surface morphology and composition of NiPt/TONs catalysts were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and the inductive coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The electrochemical behavior and methanol catalytic performance and stability of the NiPt/TONs catalysts were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and compared with similar catalysts in acidic and alkaline solutions. The results indicate that the NiPt/TONs shows higher catalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation in both acidic and alkaline solution than that reported in the literature. This implies that TONs have promising potential to be used as a support for catalysis applications.