Application of Pt-Co nanoparticles supported on CeO2-C as electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cell

A new proposal was presented to combine two effective systems, i.e. CeO2-C and Pt-Co, developing an anode for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). The nanofibers of CeO2 were fabricated by electrospinning with the template material of polyvinyl pyrrolidone (PVP), while the deposition of Pt-Co nanoparticles was carried out by the reduction reaction on the mixture of CeO2 nanofibers and Vulcan XC-72 carbon black. The results of cyclic voltammogram (CV), CO stripping voltammetry and chronoamperometry (CA) demonstrated that the oxidation activity, tolerance to poisoning species and stabilty of Pt-Co/CeO2-C were much higher than those of Pt/CeO2-C and commercial Pt/C.