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Platinum nanoparticles assembled on different carbon materials and flower-like CeO2 for methanol electro-oxidation

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Abstract

The application of direct methanol fuel cells is hampered by not only low activity but also poor stability and CO tolerance of Pt catalyst. The electrocatalytic activity and stability of platinum nanoparticles assembled on different kinds of flower-like CeO2 (fCeO2)/[Graphene (G), Carbon Vulcan (XC-72) and Ordered Mesoporous Carbon (CMK-3)] composite supports for methanol electro-oxidation were investigated. The catalyst samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic. The electrochemical properties of the catalysts were measured by a three electrode system on electrochemical workstation (IVIUM). The results show that the Pt grain size of Pt-fCeO2/G catalyst is the smallest. Compared with Pt-fCeO2/XC-72 and Pt-fCeO2/CMK-3, Pt-fCeO2/G has the lowest binding energies of Pt(0) and more hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl and other oxygen-containing functional groups. This kind of oxygen-containing functional group can facilitate methanol oxidation and relieve CO poisoning. The mass-specific activity of Pt-fCeO2/G is 2.2 and 3.6 times higher than that of Pt-fCeO2/CMK-3 and Pt-fCeO2/XC-72, respectively. The activation energy of Pt-fCeO2/G catalyst for electrocatalytic oxidation methanol is the lowest, which is 16.63 kJ mol−1. Pt-fCeO2/G appears to be a promising and cost effective methanol oxidation anode catalyst.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51864038, 51974167, 51762036) and Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Higher Education School “Youth Technology Talent Support Program” Category A (NJYT-19-A20).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Material and Metallurgy, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, Baotou, 014010, China

    Qingchun Wang, Shuyan Liu, Shengli An, Xiwen Song, Xiaolong Liang, Zihao Wang & Yibo Mu

  2. Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Advanced Ceramics and Device, Baotou, 014010, China

    Qingchun Wang, Shuyan Liu, Shengli An, Xiwen Song, Xiaolong Liang, Zihao Wang & Yibo Mu

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  1. Qingchun Wang
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  2. Shuyan Liu
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Correspondence to Qingchun Wang or Shengli An.

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Wang, Q., Liu, S., An, S. et al. Platinum nanoparticles assembled on different carbon materials and flower-like CeO2 for methanol electro-oxidation. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 26425–26438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-07021-y

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