Hollow polyaniline/pyrrole-chitosan supported Pt-Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 nanoparticles as an efficient electrocatalyst for enhancement of the methanol oxidation reaction.

In this work, the synthesized hollow poly aniline/pyrrole (HP) combined with the biopolymer chitosan (CH) was employed as a robust support material (HP-CH) for nanoparticle deposition. Cu0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4 (CZFO) nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized by FT-IR, FESEM, XRD, EDX, and mapping analyses. The novel Pt-CZFO/HP-CH nanocatalyst was then fabricated by chemically reducing hexachloroplatinic acid on the HP-CH support embedded with CZFO nanoparticles, followed by comprehensive characterization. Incorporating CZFO nanoparticles has a positive effect on the performance of Pt nanoparticles, resulting in improved activity, increased stability, and reduced CO poisoning of the catalyst during methanol oxidation, when compared with the Pt-ZFO/HP-CH, Pt-CFO/HP-CH, Pt/HP-CH, and Pt/CH catalysts. The findings underscore the value of integrating mixed metal oxides with Pt-based catalysts and highlight the role of support materials in developing advanced, efficient catalysts for fuel cell applications.