A highly-efficient and durable Pt-based electrocatalyst decorated by Co2C-Mo2C@CS composite for methanol oxidation reaction

Abstract

Designing highly efficient electrocatalysts for the methanol electro-oxidation is an ongoing challenge. Herein, we report that molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) and cobalt carbide (Co2C) are grown in situ on the surface of carbon spheres to form Co2C-Mo2C@CS carrier material by the impregnation-reduction-annealing process, and then Pt nanoparticles are deposited on the Co2C-Mo2C@CS surface through sodium borohydride reduction method. In-depth material characterizations and electrochemical analyses demonstrate that the introduction of small-sized Mo2C-Co2C composites can facilitate mass transfer and increase the solid-liquid interface area. As expected, the resulting Pt/Co2C-Mo2C@CS catalyst displays excellent methanol oxidation activity (1504.5 mA mgPt−1), enhanced CO tolerance and stability comparing with other catalysts, which mainly derived from the metal-support interaction between Co2C-Mo2C and small-sized Pt NPs. The rational design of Pt/Co2C-Mo2C@CS catalyst provides a feasible strategy for boosting the overall performance of Pt-based catalysts towards methanol oxidation, and broadens the potential applications of metal carbides.