Fabrication and performance investigation of nanocrystal tungsten nitride supported Pt catalysts for methanol electrooxidation

Abstract

Catalysts with high activity and stability for methanol electrooxidation are crucial for the commercialization of direct methanol fuel cells. In this work, the performance of nanocrystal tungsten nitride hybrid (WN/C) supported Pt catalyst for methanol electrooxidation is reported. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are adopted to investigate the physicochemical properties of WN/C and the prepared catalysts. Cyclic voltammetry, chronopotentiometry and chronoamperometry measurements are employed to study the electrocatalytic properties of the prepared catalysts. The tungsten nitride supported Pt (Pt-WN/C) catalysts exhibit significantly improved performance towards methanol electrooxidation in acidic aqueous solutions in comparison with other catalysts. The reason could predominantly originate from the synergistic effect between WN and Pt in the Pt-WN/C catalysts and the nitrogen-doping effects of the carbon supports, which could be a promising anode catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.