Enhancing methanol oxidation electrocatalysis by Pt/Mo2CTx-rGO ternary hybrid catalyst

Abstract

Here we report a ternary hybrid catalyst, Pt/Mo2CTx-rGO, for the electrocatalysis of methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cells. Two-dimensional Mo2CTx MXene was used to modify reduced graphene oxide (rGO) to obtain a hybrid of Mo2CTx-rGO. Thereafter, ultrafine Pt nanoparticles were dispersed on the hybrid to make a ternary catalyst of Pt/Mo2CTx-rGO. The electrochemical performance of the catalyst was evaluated in 1 M H2SO4 and 2 M methanol electrolyte as a target analyte. Compared with commercial Pt/C, Pt/Mo2CTx-rGO demonstrated 1.5 times larger electrochemically active surface area, 1.9 times higher mass activity, and 33.6 % longer durability. This is because of the strong electronic interaction between Pt and Mo2CTx as well as the large surface area of rGO. This work reports a novel electrocatalyst with high activity and long durability for methanol oxidation, and explore a novel application of Mo2CTx MXene.