Structural designing of Pt-CeO2/CNTs for methanol electro-oxidation

In an attempt to utilize CeO2 as a co-catalyst with Pt for methanol electro-oxidation, Pt-CeO2/CNTs were prepared through structural designing by adsorbing Pt nanoparticles on CeO2 coated CNTs. X-ray Diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) were used to analyze the composition of the prepared catalysts. Zeta potential analysis, high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) methods indicated that Pt nanoparticles are selectively adsorbed on CNTs other than CeO2 surface. Pt-CeO2/CNTs were compared with Pt supported on CNTs in terms of electrochemical active surface (EAS) areas, methanol electro-oxidation activity, and chronoamperometry, results indicating that CeO2 can enhance the catalytic activity of Pt for methanol electro-oxidation with no apparent decrease of EAS. The CO stripping test showed that CeO2 can make CO stripped at a lower potential, which is helpful for CO and methanol electro-oxidation.