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Effects of annealing temperature of PtCu/MWCNT catalysts on their electrocatalytic performance of electrooxidation of methanol

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Abstract

PtCu alloy supported on acid-treated multi-walled carbon nanotube (PtCu/MWCNT) catalysts were prepared through polyol reduction method. The prepared PtCu/MWCNT composites were annealed at different temperatures to study the effects of annealing temperatures on the particle size, structure, surface morphology, and the activity and stability of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were used to study the structure and physical characteristics of the catalyst. These physical characterization analyses all confirmed the formation of PtCu alloy, and the particle size of the catalysts rose with the increase of annealing temperature. The activity and stability of catalysts were further measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and accelerated durability tests (ADTs), respectively. It was found after annealing at 400℃ that the PtCu/MWCNT catalyst has higher activity and longer durability toward MOR. This work demonstrated that PtCu catalysts after annealing in a H2 atmosphere will cause a change in the surface atomic configuration and degree of alloying of PtCu catalysts, which determines the activity and long-term durability of PtCu/MWCNT catalyst.

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  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Xi’an University of Science & Technology, Xi’an, 710054, People’s Republic of China

    Bohua Wu, Fengxiao Du, Haiting Wang, Changqing Wu, Jia Chu, Xiaoqin Wang & Shanxin Xiong

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  1. Bohua Wu
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Wu, B., Du, F., Wang, H. et al. Effects of annealing temperature of PtCu/MWCNT catalysts on their electrocatalytic performance of electrooxidation of methanol. Ionics 28, 369–382 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-021-04311-7

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