A carbon riveted Pt/Graphene catalyst with high stability for direct methanol fuel cell

Pt/Graphene catalyst was prepared by microwave-assisted polyol process, and carbonization was riveted onto the catalyst surface to enhance the catalyst stability. The physical properties of the obtained catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical activities and stabilities of the catalyst toward methanol electrooxidation were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The XRD and TEM results show that the Pt nanoparticles, which are dispersed onto the graphene nanosheets evenly with the diameter of 3–5 nm, form the face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure and can be separated by the carbonization. The cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry results indicate that the carbon riveted Pt/Graphene has much greater stability than Pt/Graphene with similar activity.

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► Pt/Graphene catalyst was prepared by microwave-assisted polyol process.
► Carbon riveting process was used to coat carbonization onto Pt/Graphene.
► With similar activity, the carbonization-riveted catalyst has much higher stability.