Poly(vinylpyrrolidone) tailored porous ceria as a carbon-free support for methanol electrooxidation

The inevitable corrosion of carbon support under operating condition of direct methanol fuel cells significantly undermines the activity and durability of Pt catalyst. Carbon-free materials with acceptable electronic conductivity, stability, and co-functionality are promising alternative supports. We used poly(vinylpyrrolidone) as the skeleton to prepare porous ceria for carbon-free support. The ceria has very high concentration of oxygen vacancies, which plays key roles in: i) narrowing the band gap and improving the electronic conductivity; ii) improving the catalytic performance. The better methanol electrooxidation activity and durability are achieved on the porous ceria supported Pt catalyst.