Boosting Electrooxidation of Ethanol by Nickel Addition to Metallic Glass Ribbon Precursors

A CuNiCe-O nanocomposite was fabricated on the Cu₄₀Ni₂₀Al₁₀Ce₂₆Pt₃Ru₁ metallic glass (MG) ribbon surface by dealloying. The influences of Ni and dealloying time on the morphology and EOR performance were analyzed. The results suggest that the catalytic activity and stability of the dealloyed MG ribbon could be significantly enhanced owing to the alloying of Ni to the Cu₆₀Al₁₀Ce₂₆Pt₃Ru₁ MG ribbon precursor. The activated D-Cu₄₀Ni₂₀Al₁₀Ce₂₆Pt₃Ru₁ ribbon obtained at an etching time of 3 h had a better electrochemical ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) performance than other dealloyed samples due to the formation of abundant active sites and the presence of defects within the CuNiCe-O composite.