Pt-based alloy nanoparticles embedded electrospun porous carbon nanofibers as electrocatalysts for Methanol oxidation reaction

Pt-based alloy nanoparticles/porous-structured nanofibers nanocomposites, Pt-Ni/pCNFs and Pt-Ag-Ni/pCNFs, were successfully prepared via electrospinning, dip-molding, carbonization and replacement reaction as electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The alloy nanoparticles with average diameter of 180 nm were uniformly embedded on the surface of pCNFs . Taking advantages of the three factors alloy system and porous nanofiber structure, Pt-Ag-Ni/pCNFs catalyst exhibits the higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol (the maximum current density is ca. 19.6 mA cm −2 ) than that of Pt-Ni/pCNFs. In addition, Pt-Ag-Ni/pCNFs also shows an excellent electrocatalytic stability of methanol and superior sensitivity for methanol (0.0022 mA cm -2  mM -1 ). A proposed mechanism of Pt-Ag-Ni/pCNFs for MOR was proposed in the research. This research could provide a novel strategy for the preparation of MOR electrocatalysts.