Low-Temperature Synthesis of a PtRu/Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2 Electrocatalyst for Methanol Oxidation

摘要

Niobium was doped into anatase TiO_2 support at 10 mol percent (Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2 using sol-gel chemistry. A PtRu/(Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2 catalyst was synthesized by LiBH_4 reduction in tetrahydrofuran. The methanol electro-oxidation activity of the catalyst shows that this oxide support was electrically conductive. The current (A/g_(pt)) was 6 percent higher on the PtRu/(Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2 catalyst compared to a commercial PtRu/C catalyst at 25 deg C. The electrochemically active surface area of the PtRu/C was 94 percent higher than PtRu/(Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2, thus the current per active site was 100 percent higher on PtRu/(Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2. A membrane electrode assembly with PtRu/(Nb_(0.1)Ti_(0.9)O_2 had 46 percent higher current (A/g_(pt)) than an equivalent E-TEK membrane electrode assembly at 70 deg C.