Preparation and characterization of platinum/iron contained hydroxyapatite/carbon black composites

• Iron contained hydroxyapatite is prepared as supports of Pt catalyst (Pt/FeHAp).
• Pt/FeHAp mixed with carbon blacks to derive Pt/FeHAp/C catalysts.
• Pt/FeHAp/C exhibits the characteristics of Pt (1 1 0) facet and the excellent ECSA.
• Scarce CO poisoning effect is found on Pt/FeHAp/C in methanol oxidation reaction.
• The excellent performances are related to the content of Fe and Pt2+ in Pt/FeHAp/C.

In this report, calcium ions in the porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) microspheres are partially exchanged with ferrous ions to form iron contained hydroxyapatite (FeHAp) on which Pt ions in H2PtCl6 solution are reduced to form Pt/FeHAp catalyst and finally mixed with carbon blacks to derive Pt/FeHAp/C catalysts. They exhibit the characteristics of Pt (1 1 0) facet with a sharp desorption peak at −0.109 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the electrochemical surface area (ECSA) ranging from 73 to 224 m2 g−1 with little CO poisoning effect on Pt, and the mass activity ranging from 6.88 to 28.99 A gPt−1 in methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) at 0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). Besides, Pt/FeHAp reveals the lower onset potential in CO-stripping than Pt/C. These better performances of Pt/FeHAp/C catalysts, compared with Pt/C, are also related to the Pt (1 1 0) facet, the content of Fe, and the coexistence of Pt0 and Pt2+ in Pt/FeHAp.