Amorphous TiO<sub><i>x</i></sub> Stabilized Intermetallic Pt<sub>3</sub>Ti Nanocatalyst for Methanol Oxidation Reaction
Longhai Zhang, Jiaxi Zhang, Weiquan Tan, Chengzhi Zhong, Yuanhua Tu, Huiyu Song, Li Du, Shijun Liao, Zhiming Cui
Abstract
Intermetallic compounds, featuring atomically ordered structures, have emerged as a class of promising electrocatalysts for fuel cells. However, it remains a formidable challenge to controllably synthesize Pt-based intermetallics during the essential high-temperature annealing process as well as stabilize the nanoparticles (NPs) during the electrocatalytic process. Herein, we demonstrated a Ketjen black supported intermetallic Pt 3 Ti nanocatalyst coupled with amorphous TiO x species (Pt 3 Ti-TiO x /KB). The TiO x can not only confine Pt 3 Ti NPs during the synthesis and electrocatalytic process by a strong metal–oxide interaction but also promote the water dissociation for generating more OH species, thus facilitating the conversion of CO ad . The Pt 3 Ti-TiO x /KB showed a significantly enhanced mass activity (2.15 A mg Pt –1 ) for the methanol oxidation reaction, compared with Pt 3 Ti/KB and Pt/C, and presented an impressively high mass activity retention (∼71%) after the durability test. This work provides an effective strategy of coupling Pt-based intermetallics with functional oxides for developing highly performed electrocatalysts.