Green and cost-effective synthesis of NiSn alloys by using intermittent microwave heating process as electrocatalysts for ethanol oxidation in alkaline solution

This work is focused on the design and development of carbon-supported NiSn alloys by using the intermittent microwave heating polyol process. The electrocatalysts were synthesized under different sequences of irradiation time and Ni:Sn ratios. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements showed that NiSn/C electrocatalysts have a displacement to lower 2 θ angles with respect to Ni/C electrocatalysts, as consecuence of some degree of alloy formation. The cyclic voltammograms show that NiSn/C are active for ethanol oxidation and the rate of reaction decreases as the concentration of ethanol increases to 2 mol L −1 . Some NiSn nanomaterials present better stability compared with Ni/C and this feature can be due to the beneficial effect of Sn. Therefore, it is demonstrated that intermittent microwave irradiation is a potential method to synthetize in a short time and in large-scale NiSn alloy that can be used in direct alcohol fuel cells. Graphic abstract