title: Physical and electrochemical characterizations of microwave-assisted polyol preparation of carbon-supported PtRu nanoparticles.
abstract: PtRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon and carbon nanotubes were prepared by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The PtRu nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2-6 nm in diameter. All PtRu/C catalysts prepared as such displayed the characteristic diffraction peaks of a Pt face-centered cubic structure, excepting that the 2theta values were shifted to slightly higher values. XPS analysis revealed that the catalysts contained mostly Pt(0) and Ru(0), with traces of Pt(II), Pt(IV), and Ru(IV). The electro-oxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry, linear sweep voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. It was found that both PtRu/C catalysts had high and more durable electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation than a comparative Pt/C catalyst. Preliminary data from a direct methanol fuel cell single stack test cell using the Vulcan-carbon-supported PtRu alloy as the anode catalyst showed high power density.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research & Engineering, 3 Research Link, Singapore 117602, Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore. zl-liu@imre.a-star.edu.sg
authors.forename: Zhaolin
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Jim Yang
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Weixiang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Leong Ming
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Gan
mesh_terms: D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry*; D004563:Electrochemistry; D008872:Microwaves; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D010984:Platinum / Q000737:chemistry*; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry / Q000528:radiation effects; D012428:Ruthenium / Q000737:chemistry*; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D011108:Polymers; C024617:polyol; D010984:Platinum; D002244:Carbon; D012428:Ruthenium