Parametric study on electrochemical deposition of hair shaped PtRu as methanol oxidation catalyst

• PtRu nanofibers electrochemically were deposited on gold film electrode.
• The morphology and elemental analysis were studied by SEM and EDX.
• PtRu nanofiber coated gold film electrode can catalysis the methanol oxidation.

In this article we report a method for synthesis of hair shaped PtRu and investigation of its catalytic ability towards methanol oxidation reaction. Hair shaped PtRu electrochemically was deposited on electrode from an electrolyte with high acidity containing anionic surfactant, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS). The PtRu modified gold film electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The effect of Pt:Ru composition; electrodeposition time and SDS concentration on catalyst morphology were investigated in terms of electrocatalytic response of as-fabricated electrode. The amount of the Pt loaded on the electrode, in the best electroreduction condition, was analyzed using ICP-AES technique.