CO tolerant PtRu–MoOx nanoparticles supported on carbon nanofibers for direct methanol fuel cells

Novel nanostructured catalysts based on PtRu–MoOx nanoparticles supported on carbon nanofibers have been investigated for CO and methanol electrooxidation. Carbon nanofibers are prepared by thermocatalytic decomposition of methane (NF), and functionalized with HNO3 (NF.F). Electrocatalysts are obtained using a two-step procedure: (1) Pt and Ru are incorporated on the carbon substrates (Vulcan XC 72R, NF and NF.F), and (2) Mo is loaded on the PtRu/C samples. Differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) analyses establish that the incorporation of Mo increases significantly the CO tolerance than respective binary counterparts. The nature of the carbon support affects considerably the stabilization of MoOx nanoparticles and also the performance in methanol electrooxidation. Accordingly, a significant increase of methanol oxidation is obtained in PtRu–MoOx nanoparticles supported on non-functionalized carbon nanofiber, in parallel with a large reduction of the Pt amount in comparison with binary counterparts and commercial catalyst.