Synthesis and characterization of Pt-MoO_x-TiO_2 electrodes for direct ethanol fuel cells

摘要

To enhance the CO-tolerance performance of anode catalysts for direct ethanol fuel cells,carbon nanotubes were modified by titanium dioxide (donated as CNTs@TiO2) and subsequently served as the support for the preparation of Pt/CNTs@TiO2 and Pt-Mo/CNTs@TiO2 electrocatalysts via a UV-photoreduction method.The physicochemical characterizations of the catalysts were carried out by using X-ray diffraction (XRD),transmission electron microscopy (TEM),X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS),and infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed probe ammonia molecules.The electrocatalytic properties of the catalysts for methanol oxidation were investigated by the cyclic voltammetry technique.The results show that Pt-Mo/CNTs@TiO2 electrode exhibits the highest performance in all the electrodes.It is explained that,the structure,the oxidation states,and the acid-base properties of the catalysts are influenced due to the strong interaction between Ti and Mo species by adding TiO2 and MoOx to the Pt-based catalysts.