Abstract
Carbon nanotube-supported ZrO 2 and Pt (Pt–ZrO 2/CNT) catalysts with various Pt/ZrO 2 molar ratios were prepared by sol–gel and ethylene glycol reduction methods. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy showed that ZrO 2 nanocrystallites tend to grow gradually with the increase of ZrO 2 ratio, whereas the size of Pt crystallites decreases and they disperse uniformly on the surface of carbon nanotube-supported ZrO 2. The composite catalyst activities were examined by cyclic voltammetry, potentiostatic polarization and CO stripping voltammetry in acidic solutions. The results demonstrated that the addition of ZrO 2 significantly increased the catalytic activity of Pt for methanol and ethanol oxidation. However, the promotion degree varied with the increase of ZrO 2 content. The maximum catalytic activity for methanol and ethanol oxidation was observed at Pt–ZrO 2/CNTs (1:1) and Pt–ZrO 2/CNTs (1:3), respectively. This difference was ascribed to the dissimilar catalytic mechanism of Pt–ZrO 2/CNTs for methanol and for ethanol electro-oxidation.
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