Intermittent microwave synthesis of nanostructured Pt/TiN-graphene with high catalytic activity for methanol oxidation

A one-step and fast microwave technique was developed to synthesize graphene-supported TiN nanoparticles (TiN-G) directly from graphene and dihydroxybis (ammonium lactato) titanium (IV). During the synthesis graphene served as a reductant and template to reduce the Ti-precursor into TiN and then uniformly disperse TiN nanoparticles on it. Pt/TiN-G catalyst was also successfully prepared with the portion of Pt nanoparticles was anchored at the interface of TiN and graphene. Electrochemical measurements showed that the Pt/TiN-G catalyst exhibited improved catalytic activity for methanol oxidation and enhanced CO tolerance than those of Pt/G catalyst, attributed to the formation of -OH groups on the surface of TiN. And the -OH attached TiN assisted the conversion of CO into CO2.