Pt-AlOOH-SiO2/graphene hybrid nanomaterial with very high electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation

• Pt–AlOOH–SiO2/graphene catalysts were successfully synthesized.
• The AlOOH–SiO2/graphene hybrid could improve the dispersion of the Pt nanoparticles.
• Methanol oxidation activity and stability on Pt–AlOOH–SiO2/graphene catalysts were improved.
• The promotion effect of catalysts should be attributed to the presence of AlOOH, SiO2.

Hybrid materials comprising of Pt dispersed on AlOOH, SiO2 doped graphene are successfully synthesized. The structure and morphology of the catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction, TEM, HRTEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Their electrocatalytic properties are investigated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry. The experimental results show that the presence of AlOOH and SiO2 favors the Pt nanoparticles dispersion on the graphene sheets. This greatly improves the electrocatalytic activities of Pt/graphene catalysts for methanol oxidation. In particular, the catalyst containing 7% of Al and Si exhibits the best electrocatalytic performance for methanol oxidation with mass activity of 1720 mA mg−1. Therefore, Pt–AlOOH–SiO2/graphene hybrid is shown to be an effective catalyst for fuel cell application.