Electrooxidation of methanol on PtMyOx (MÂ =Â Sn, Mo, Os or W) electrodes

In this paper, we have studied the electrooxidation of methanol on PtMyOx (M = Sn, Mo, Os or W) electrodes prepared by the decomposition of polymeric precursors. The PtMyOx materials were prepared on Ti plates and were characterized by SEM and EDX. The electrodes presented compositions very similar to the nominal ones, except for the electrodes containing Os, which presented high Os loss. The electrodes catalytic activity in the electrooxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The electrodes containing tin in their compositions presented the highest electroactivity. The possible mechanisms involved in activity enhancement are discussed.