Characterization of composite carbon supported PtRu catalyst and its catalytic performance for methanol oxidation

A composite carbon prepared by blending Vulcan XC-72 carbon with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) had been used as a support of PtRu alloy catalyst (PtRu/C + MWCNTs) for methanol oxidation reaction. The obtained electrocatalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The influence of the composite carbon support on the alloy content and PtRu surface state was discussed. The electrocatalytic property of the PtRu/C + MWCNTs catalyst was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chromoamperometry, CO stripping voltammetry and DMFC single cell test. The results demonstrated that, compared to the PtRu/C and PtRu/MWCNTs catalysts, the PtRu/C + MWCNTs catalyst exhibited superior electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation.