Effect of the nanostructure on the CO poisoning rate of platinum

Platinum was electrochemically deposited in the forms of nanowires and nanotubes and compared to Pt black and Pt wire electrodes. The resistance to CO poisoning was measured in CO saturated solution by recording the current decrease in the H adsorption/desorption region through continuous sweeping of the electrode potential between 0.00 and 0.45 V vs RHE. For Pt deposits prepared with the same deposition charge, it is shown that the maximum coverage of CO, θCO,max, decreases as one goes from Pt black, to nanowires and to nanotubes. In the case of the longest nanotube prepared, θCO,max is as low as 0.44.