Boosting alcohol electro-oxidation reaction with bimetallic PtRu nanoalloys supported on robust Ti0.7W0.3O2 nanomaterial in direct liquid fuel cells

In this work, an anatase Ti0.7W0.3O2-supported Pt3Ru nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by combining the advantages of the non-carbon Ti0.7W0.3O2 nanosupport and the synergistic effect of the bimetallic Pt3Ru nanoalloy that was investigated as electrocatalyst toward alcohol electrochemical oxidation. The bimetallic Pt3Ru nanoparticles with ~3 nm in diameter were relatively well-dispersed on the surface of the anatase Ti0.7W0.3O2 nanosupport via a surfactant-free microwave-assisted polyol route that, which was attributable to the good dispersibility of ethylene glycol and the rapid, uniformity of the microwave heating. For methanol and ethanol electrochemical oxidation, the as-obtained Pt3Ru (NPs)/Ti0.7W0.3O2 electrocatalyst exhibited the low onset potential (~0.10 V vs. NHE for MOR and ~0.35 V vs. NHE for EOR) and high mass activity (~350.84 mA mgPt−1 for MOR and ~274.59 mA mgPt−1 for EOR) compared to the commercial Pt (NPs)/C (E-TEK) electrocatalyst. Additionally, the CO-stripping and CA results indicated the remarkably enhanced CO-tolerance of the Pt3Ru (NPs)/Ti0.7W0.3O2 catalyst. After the 5000-cycle accelerated durability test (ADT) in acidic ethanol media, the bimetallic Pt3Ru (NPs)/Ti0.7W0.3O2 catalyst only showed the mass activity loss of 19.11% of its initial mass activity, compared with the severe deterioration of 44.04% of the commercial Pt (NPs)/C (E-TEK) catalyst. The outstanding results could be interpreted due to the bifunctional mechanism of the Pt3Ru nanoalloys combining with the synergistic effect between the bimetallic nanoalloy and the mesoporous Ti0.7W0.3O2 nanosupport as well as the superior anti-corrosion of the TiO2-based nanosupport under acidic and oxidative environments.