Regulating the atomic ratio of Pt/Ru to enhance CO anti-poisoning of Pt based electrocatalysts toward methanol oxidation reaction

Pt based electrocatalysts are considered as very promising for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). Especially, the PtRu alloy catalysts has attracted more and more attentions. However, the catalytic efficiency of PtRu electrocatalyst is seriously hampered originated from the poisoning effect of CO* intermediate during MOR process. Herein, we have regulated the Pt/Ru atom ratio and controlled the morphology to optimize electronic structures of the alloy for achieving excellent MOR performance. The obtained Pt 2 Ru 1 alloy nanowires display the most negative peak potential of CO oxidation in contrast to commercial Pt/C, PtRu/C catalysts, Pt 3 Ru 1 and Pt 1 Ru 1 alloy nanowires, indicating an excellent anti CO poisoning activity. In addition, the adsorption capacity of OH* on Pt 2 Ru 1 alloy nanowires is obviously improved compared to commercial Pt/C and PtRu/C electrocatalysts, which is in favor of the oxidizing of CO* intermediate. Therefore, the Pt 2 Ru 1 alloy nanowires exhibit significantly enhanced specific activity (2.30 mA cm −2 ) and mass activity (1.29 A mg Pt −1 ) towards MOR compared to those of commercial Pt/C and PtRu/C electrocatalysts. The research offers a potential insight for designing highly efficient electrocatalysts for MOR.