Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Ru-Ni as Methanol Electro-Oxidation Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) supported Pt-Ru and Pt-Ru-Ni catalysts were prepared by chemical reduction of metal precursors with sodium borohydride at room temperature. The crystallographic properties and composition of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XR, D) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, and the catalytic activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation were measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), linear sweep voltammetries (LSV), and chronoamperometry (CA). The results show that the catalysts exhibit face-centered cubic (fee) structure. The particle size of Pt-R.u-Ni/CNTs catalyst is about 4.8 nm. The catalytic activity and stability of the Pt-Ru-Ni/CNTs catalyst are higher than those of Pt-Ru/CNTs catalyst.