Methanol oxidation on MoO_3 promoted Pt/C electrocatalyst

摘要

MoO_3 is incorporated into Vulcan carbon XC-72R by solid—state reaction under intermittent microwave heating (IMH) method. The Pt nanoparticles are dispersed by microwave-assisted polyol process. The physicochemical characterization reveals that MoO_3 and Pt nanoparticles are evenly deposited on Vulcan carbon XC-72R. The non-conducting MoO_3 is electrochemically reduced to nonstoichiometric and electroconductive hydrogen molybdenum bronze (H_xMoO_3) in acidic solution. The peak current for methanol electrooxidation is about 128% higher on Pt-MoCVC electrode than Pt-Ru/C electrode. Also, there is a significant increase in the electrode response toward stability test which can be attributed to hydrogen molybdenum bronze phase and its direct role in the conversion of CO to CO_2. Intermittent microwave heating method is effective for incorporating oxide materials in Vulcan XC-72R in a short span of time which is evidenced by the formation of hydrogen molybdenum bronze phase during the CV measurements.