Facile preparation of rutile Ti0.7W0.3O2 with high conductivity and its effect on enhanced electrocatalytic activity of Pt as catalyst support

Rutile Ti0.7W0.3O2 with high conductivity is prepared in a mild conditon and characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron mocroscopy (SEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Pt nanoparticles are loaded on the non-carbon catalyst support Ti0.7W0.3O2 and the electrocatalytic activity of Pt/Ti0.7W0.3O2 is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronoampermetry (CA) and rotating disk electrode (RDE) experiments. The Pt/Ti0.7W0.3O2 exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity of ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR) than commercial Pt/C (E-TEK) and its durability is also enhanced. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of Pt/Ti0.7W0.3O2 is increased compared with that of Pt/C. The activation energy studies show that the dissociation adsorption of ethanol on Pt/Ti0.7W0.3O2 is as easy as that on Pt/C in kinetic-controlled process of ethanol. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis shows that electrocatalytic activity enhancement of Pt/Ti0.7W0.3O2 is attributed to the charge transfer from Ti0.7W0.3O2 to Pt.