Pt/IrO2/CNT anode catalyst with high performance for direct methanol fuel cells

Carbon nanotube immobilized IrO2 (IrO2/CNT) was prepared by a simple oxidation method with hydrogen peroxide as an oxidant and used as an improved catalyst support to load active Pt to prepare Pt/IrO2/CNT anode catalyst for direct methanol fuel cell. Electrochemical measurement revealed that Pt/IrO2/CNT exhibits much higher activity for methanol oxidation and better CO tolerance than Pt/CNT. The anodic peak current of methanol oxidation on Pt/IrO2/CNT (873.1A g(Pt)(-1)) is 2.6 times that of Pt/CNT catalyst (335.7A g(Pt)(-1)). The enhanced performance of Pt/IrO2/CNT is attributed to the fact that IrO2 improves the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles, and lowers the charge transfer resistance in methanol electrooxidation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.