Performance of vertically oriented graphene supported platinum–ruthenium bimetallic catalyst for methanol oxidation

Abstract

This work reports the electrocatalytic performance of vertically oriented graphene (VG) supported Pt–Ru bimetallic catalysts toward methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Dense networks of VG are directly synthesized on carbon paper (CP) via a microwave plamsa-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. A repeated pulse potentials approach is applied in a conventional three-electrode electrochemical system for the co-electrodeposition of Pt–Ru bimetallic nanoparticles. It is found that, the decoration of VG can simultaneously lead to a ∼3.5 times higher catalyst mass loading and a ∼50% smaller nanoparticle size than the pristine CP counterparts. An optimum Pt molar ratio of 83.4% in the deposits, achieved with a [H2PtCl6]:[RuCl3] of 1:1 in the electrolyte, is clarified with synthetically considering the mass specific activity, CO tolerance, and catalytic stability. According to Tafel analysis and cyclic voltammetry (CV) tests, the Pt–Ru/VG catalyst with the optimized Pt molar ratio can realize a faster methanol dehydrogenation than Pt/VG, and present a significantly enhanced catalytic activity (maximum current density of 339.2 mA mg−1) than those using pristine CP and Vulcan XC-72 as the supports.