Preparation and Electrochemical Characterization of PtRuO₂−Ce_0.5Pr_0.5O_2−δ/C Catalysts for Methanol Electrooxidation

The methanol electrooxidation reaction was studied on carbon-dispersed Pt-rare earth oxide nanocatalysts with RuO₂ nanorod in H₂SO₄/CH₃OH solutions. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize PtRuO₂−Ce_0.5Pr_0.5O_2−δ/C catalysts. The electrochemical activities for the methanol electrooxidation reaction were measured in a powder microelectrode by cyclic voltammetry. The results showed that PtRuO₂−Ce_0.5Pr_0.5O_2−δ/C exhibited the highest electroactivity and PtRuO₂−Pr₆O₁₁/C exhibited extremely small current density. Interpretation of trial results was based on the fact that, in contrast to PtRu/C catalysts, PtRuO₂−Pr₆O₁₁/C catalysts had better ability to dehydrogenate methanol and enhance the effect of the bifunctional mechanism in the methanol oxidation reaction.