Influence of Metal Oxides on Platinum Activity towards Methanol Oxidation in H2SO4 solution.

Pt-CeO2 /C, Pt-TiO2 /C, and Pt-ZrO2 /C electrocatalysts were prepared by using a modified microwave-assisted polyol process. Physical characterization was performed by using XRD, TEM, and EDX analyses. The incorporation of different metal oxides increased the dispersion degree of Pt nanoparticles and reduced their diameter to 2.50 and 2.33 nm when TiO2 and ZrO2 were introduced to Pt/C, respectively. The electrocatalytic activity of various electrocatalysts was examined towards methanol oxidation in H2 SO4 solution by using cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Among the studied composites, Pt-ZrO2 /C was selected to be a candidate electrocatalyst for better electrochemical performance in direct methanol fuel cells.