Improving the Electrocatalytic Activities and CO Tolerance of Pt NPs by Incorporating TiO<sub>2</sub> Nanocubes onto Carbon Supports
Rodolfo M. Antoniassi, Jhon Quiroz, Eduardo C. M. Barbosa, Luanna S. Parreira, Roberta A. Isidoro, Estevam V. Spinacé, Júlio César M. Silva, Pedro H. C. Camargo
Abstract
Abstract Designing efficient anode CO‐tolerant electrocatalysts is critical in low‐temperature fuel cell catalysts fueled either by H 2 /CO or alcohol. We demonstrate that the incorporation of TiO 2 nanocubes (TiO 2 NCs) on Carbon Vulcan supports, followed by the synthesis of Pt NPs at their surface (Pt/TiO 2 NCs‐C material), led to improvements in performance towards the electrooxidation of carbon monoxide, ethanol, methanol, ethylene glycol, and glycerol in acidic media relative to the commercial Pt/C and Pt/TiO 2 ‐C counterparts employing commercial TiO 2 . The nanocubes enabled changes in the electronic properties of Pt NPs while contributing to the bifunctional mechanism as compared to Pt/C and Pt/TiO 2 ‐C with commercial TiO 2 . Fuel cell experiments fed with H 2 /CO steam showed that Pt/TiO 2 NCs‐C employing nanocubes was resistant to CO‐poisoning, yielding superior performance in operational conditions. The results reported herein have important implications for developing electrocatalysts with superior performances in PEMFCs.