Activation of commercial Pt/C catalyst toward glucose electro-oxidation by irreversible Bi adsorption

The effect of irreversibly adsorbed Bi on commercial Pt/C catalyst toward glucose electro-oxidation reaction (GOR) in different electrolytes (acidic, neutral, alkaline) is studied. Bi is successfully deposited on Pt/C from Bi³⁺ containing acidic solution from 0 to 90% coverage degree. The stability of the Bi layer in acid and alkaline corresponded to previous studies and started to dissolve at 0.7V and 0.8V versus reversible hydrogen electrode (RHE), respectively. However, in neutral phosphate buffer the layer showed remarkable stability to at least 1.2V versus RHE. Bi modification at low (20%) and high (80%) coverage showed the highest increase in the activity of Pt/C toward GOR by a factor up to 7 due to the increased poisoning resistance of the modified catalyst. The effect of poisoning was especially reduced at high Bi coverage (80%), which shows that adsorbate blocked by Bi through the third-body effect is effective. Finally, with or without Bi modification GOR on Pt/C was most active in alkaline conditions.