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Abstract
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Tailoring efective electrocatalysts for the ethanol oxidation process with low-price, high electrocatalytic activity, and long
lifetime is crucial for large-scale application of direct ethanol fuel cells. Herein, it was aimed to provide a facile method
for designing Polyaniline-Manganese ferrite (PANI-MnFe2O4) supported nanocatalysts modifed with Pt/Ru to be utilized
for ethanol electrooxidation. The successful synthesis of the PANI-MnFe2O4/Pt/Ru nanocomposite was confrmed by the
physicochemical analysis techniques including Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, feld emission scanning electron
microscopy, and X-ray difraction. The electrooxidation of ethanol at room temperature was investigated using a number of
electrochemical characterizations such as cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry techniques.
In comparison to other electrodes, the PANI-MnFe2O4/Pt–Ru electrode demonstrated superior efciency in terms of boosting
forward current (If
, 100 mAcm−2) and increasing the electrochemically active surface area (ECSA, 30.3) that was required
for ethanol molecules during the oxidation process. Furthermore, results demonstrated that introducing Ru and Pt to the
PANI-MnFe2O4 support enhanced its efciency towards the ethanol oxidation reaction by boosting both the stability (94%)
and the carbon monoxide tolerance, which are both critical for alkaline direct ethanol fuel cell practical applications. This
study paves the way for a novel approach for engineering high-performance, low-cost electrocatalysts that may be utilized
as an alternative to commercial electrocatalysts in fuel cell technology
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