Highly efficient and stable electrooxidation of methanol and ethanol on 3D Pt catalyst by thermal decomposition of In2O3 nanoshells

In this paper In 2 O 3 nanoshells have been synthesized via a facile hydrothermal approach. The nanoshells can be completely cracked into pony-size nanocubes by annealing, which are then used as a support of Pt catalyst for methanol and ethanol electrocatalytic oxidation . The prepared In 2 O 3 and supported Pt catalysts (Pt/In 2 O 3 ) were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), field effect scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out, indicating the excellent catalytic performance for alcohol electrooxidation can be achieved on Pt/In 2 O 3 nanocatalysts due to the multiple active sites, high conductivity and a mass of microchannels and micropores for reactant diffusions arising from 3D frame structures compared with that on the Pt/C catalysts.