Au@Pt nanoparticles prepared by one-phase protocol and their electrocatalytic properties for methanol oxidation

Au@Pt nanoparticles are prepared in this paper by successive reduction of HAuCl4 and H2PtCl6 precursors. The morphology of Au@Pt nanoparticles is characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and core (Au)-shell (Pt) like structure is observed. The electrocatalytic property of Au@Pt catalyst for methanol oxidation is investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 1.0M CH3OH + 0.1 M H2SO4 aqueous solution. The effects of atomic ratio of gold to platinum, methanol concentration and CV scan rate on the peak current density of methanol oxidation and long-term cycle stability of Au@Pt catalyst are also studied. The results show that the presence of Au improves the electrocatalytic activity of Pt catalyst for methanol oxidation, and the best atomic ratio of Au to Pt is 1/2.25. Moreover, Au@Pt catalyst shows good long-term cycle stability and 98.6% value of peak current density of methanol oxidation remains after 500 cycles.