Binder-Free Construction of a Methanol Tolerant Pt/TiO2/Carbon Paper Anode by Atomic Layer Deposition

Abstract

Direct liquid fuel cells are very appealing alternatives for fighting climate change, particularly in the field of personal mobility solutions. This is especially true for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) that use and burn safe fuels that are readily available from sustainable sources using well-established C1 chemistry. However, DMFCs also have some serious competitive disadvantages, like the high cost of the noble metal catalysts, the difficulties of the catalyst application, and the poisoning of the catalyst due to carbon monoxide formation. Here we demonstrate that depositing platinum on TiO2 by atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an easy, reproducible method for the synthesis of TiO2-supported platinum catalyst for methanol oxidation with superior anti-poisoning properties.