Comparison study of electrocatalytic activity of reduced graphene oxide supported Pt–Cu bimetallic or Pt nanoparticles for the electrooxidation of methanol and ethanol

• Pt–Cu/RGO was prepared via a one step reduction using NaBH4 as reducing agent.
• Pt–Cu supported on RGO as anode catalyst for DMFCs and DEFCs.
• Pt–Cu/RGO showed enhanced catalytic activity for methanol oxidation than Pt/RGO.
• Pt–Cu/RGO showed enhanced catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation than Pt/RGO.

Pt–Cu bimetallic nanoparticles supported on reduced graphene oxide (Pt–Cu/RGO) were synthesized through the simple one-step reduction of H2PtCl6 and CuSO4 in the presence of graphene oxide (GO) at room-temperature. The Pt–Cu/RGO was characterized with UV–vis spectrophotometer, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and its catalytic behavior for the direct oxidation of methanol was investigated. Compared to Pt/RGO and Pt/C catalysts, Pt–Cu/RGO hybrids exhibited markedly superior catalytic activity for the electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol and ethanol. This improved catalytic activity can be attributed to the dendritic structure of the Pt–Cu bimetallic nanoparticles.