Methanol Oxidation Reaction In Alkaline Media Research Articles

Electrocatalytic activity and stability of carbon nanotubes-supported Pt-on-Au, Pd-on-Au, Pt-on-Pd-on-Au, Pt-on-Pd, and Pd-on-Pt catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction

For optimizing both the activity and stability of Pt-based catalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), several carbon nanotubes(CNTs)-supported catalysts such as Pt-on-Au/CNTs, Pd-on-Au/CNTs, Pt-on-Pd-on-Au/CNTs, Pt-on-Pd/CNTs, and Pd-on-Pt/CNTs catalysts are synthesized mainly through electrodeposition method. The activity and stability comparisons show that Pt-on-Au/CNTs has a higher MOR activity but a lower stability than Pd-on-Au/CNTs. To utilize the merits of the Pt and Pd components, Pt-on-Pd-on-Au/CNTs and Pt-on-Pd/CNTs catalysts are synthesized. The Pt-on-Pd-on-Au/CNTs and Pt-on-Pd/CNTs catalysts shows higher MOR activity than Pd-on-Au/CNTs and Pd/CNTs catalysts and higher stability than Pt-on-Au/CNTs, suggesting a synergistic interaction between Pt and Pd in catalyzing methanol oxidation reaction. Calculation shows that the total mass activity of Pt-on-Pd/CNTs with quite low Pt amount is on a similar level as that of Pt/CNTs for MOR oxidation, indicating the Pt-on-Pd catalyst could have promising potential as a low-Pt catalyst for MOR in alkaline media.

Highly active Pt-on-Au catalysts for methanol oxidation in alkaline media involving a synergistic interaction between Pt and Au

Several Pt-on-Au/SnO2-CNTs catalysts with different Pt loadings are synthesized through site-selective electrodeposition for catalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in alkaline media. The catalysts are tested to exhibit extremely high Pt mass activity towards MOR, and the catalytic mechanism is proposed based on the synergetic effect between Pt and Au, in which the Pt entities provide Pt-OH for oxidation of alkoxide (CH3O−) while the Au surfaces provide adsorption sites for alkoxide. It is expected that this mechanism could be extended to developing high performance non-Pt catalysts for MOR in alkaline media.