Surface sites assembled-strategy on Pt–Ru nanowires for accelerated methanol oxidation

Modifying the surface active sites of Pt-based catalysts at the atomic level is of great significance to enhance the electrooxidation of methanol molecules. Herein, efficient active site assembly strategies are proposed, precisely, aimed at building high-performance electrocatalysts. Serving as proof-of-concept examples, both instances of Pt nanowires surface doping isolated Ru atoms (Ru/Pt NWs) and Ru nanoparticles supported on Pt nanowires (Ru@Pt NWs) are specially designed to optimize the catalytic performance of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The specific activity and mass activity of optimal Ru/Pt NWs can reach up to 3.93 mA cm−2 and 568.40 mA mg−1Pt, respectively, which is 1.53/1.94 times that of the Ru@Pt NWs and 2.03/2.59 times that of pure Pt NWs. Detailed studies on mechanism reveal that the Pt–Ru alloy can significantly improve the electron transfer kinetics of MOR, and activate more Pt atoms involved in the Langmuir–Hinshelwood (L–H) pathway compared with Ru@Pt NWs, all of which collectively accelerate the methanol oxidation. This surface engineering strategy via assembling active sites can reveal a promising method in the design of advanced Pt-based catalysts for direct methanol fuel cells.