Hollow PtRu Nanospheres Catalyst Supported on Activated Carbon Fiber and Carbon Nanotubes for Methanol Electroxidation

Abstract

PtRu hollow nanospheres catalysts supported on activated carbon fiber (ACF) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were simply prepared at room temperature in a homogeneous solution with Co nanoparticles as sacrificial templates. TEM measurements showed that the coreless PtRu nanospheres supported on ACF and CNTs were both from composed 20 to 30 nm with an average diameter of 24 nm. The shells of the nanospheres on ACF composed of PtRu nanocrystals with a size of 5 nm, while those on CNTs were 3 nm. Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that hollow-PtRu/ACF showed a lower oxidation current density towards methanol electroxidation but a better tolerance to poisoning effect than hollow-PtRu/CNTs. The poorer performance of hollow-PtRu/CNTs may be caused by the phase separation.