Electronic Structure Effect of PtCo Alloy with Adjustable Compositions for Efficient Methanol Electrooxidation

Various efficient strategies have been developed to overcome the anodic electrocatalyst issue of methanol-based fuel cells owing to their complicated methanol electrooxidation mechanism. In this work, PtCo nanoparticles with adjustable compositions supported on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Pt1Cox/MWCNTs) through the adsorbing–coating–annealing–etching route were synthesized. Compared with the Pt/C catalyst, Pt1Co3/MWCNTs exhibit better electrocatalytic MOR activity in both activity and durability. Notably, the electrochemical mass and specific activity of the as-prepared catalyst are 1.04 mA μg–1Pt and 2.18 mA cm–2, respectively, which are higher than those of the Pt/C catalyst. Moreover, the as-prepared sample revealed lower onset potential during the CO stripping test. Furthermore, the Pt1Co3/MWCNTs possess a lower current density decrease rate in chronoamperometry and cyclic durability tests. The enhancement of activity and stability of Pt1Co3/MWCNTs could be ascribed to their ordered morphological structure, the electronic interaction between MWCNTs and PtCo nanoparticles, and the suitable electronic structure effect between Pt/Co ratios. The concept of the catalyst design in this study offers a different guideline for constructing the novel methanol electrooxidation catalyst, which will accelerate the widespread fuel cell practical application