Cu assisted loading of Pt on CeO as a carbon-free catalyst for methanol and oxygen reduction reaction.

The widely studied Pt/C catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) suffers severe carbon corrosion under operation, which undermines the catalytic activity and durability. It is of great importance to develop a carbon-free support with co-catalytic functionality for improving both the activity and durability of Pt-based catalysts. The direct loading of Pt on the smooth surface of oxides may be difficult. Herein, the Cu assisted loading of Pt on CeO is developed. Cu pre-coated CeO was facilely synthesized and Pt was electrochemically deposited to fabricate the carbon-free PtCu/CeO catalyst. The PtCu/CeO catalyst has a mass activity up to 1.84 and 1.57 times higher than Pt/C towards methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), respectively. Better durability is also confirmed by chronoamperometry and accelerated degradation tests. The strategy in this work would be greatly helpful for developing an efficient carbon-free support of Pt-based catalysts for applications in DMFCs.