Graphene supported electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation

Abstract

Graphene nanosheet was prepared by modified Hummer's chemical method and utilized as a catalyst support of PtRu nanoparticles for the electro-oxidation of methanol. Home-made graphene nanosheet was clearly characterized by Raman spectroscopy and we applied colloidal method to synthesize with high metal content of 80 wt.% Pt-Ru catalyst, which is extensively clarified by HR-TEM and XRD analysis. 80 wt.% Pt-Ru/graphene nanosheet catalyst showed superior electrochemical activity toward methanol oxidation compared to Pt-Ru/Vulcan XC-72R. It is due to the significant increase of electrochemical active surface area for better catalyst utilization. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.