Effective Electrochemical Activation of Oleate-Residue-Fouled Pt Nanoparticle Catalysts for Methanol and Formic Acid Oxidation.

Abstract

Platinum plays a crucial role in the field of basic electrochemistry, regeneration energy, and so on. Pt nanomaterials with well-controlled size and shape could be easily obtained from metal–oleate complexes. However, these nanoparticles (NPs) were electrochemically inactive because of the attached organic residue. This work has been reported as a robust method to remove the residues from the surface of Pt nanoparticle catalysts by the electrochemical treatment in alkaline media. After the electrochemical activation, the Pt nanoparticle catalysts show good catalytic behavior toward the electrochemical oxidation of methanol and formic acid.