Superior CO-tolerance and stability toward alcohol electro-oxidation reaction of 1D-bimetallic platinum-cobalt nanowires on Tungsten-modified anatase TiO2 nanostructure

Direct alcohol fuel cells (DAFCs) use liquid and renewable fuels that have been sparked significant interest in a variety of applications; however, the poor catalytic performance of the state-of-the-art Pt nanoparticles (NPs) over carbon support is a major challenge for further DAFC utilization. Herein, the 1D-bimetallic Pt 3 Co nanowires with a diameter of ~4 nm and the lengths of up to several tens nanometers were grown firstly on the non-carbon Ti 0.7 W 0.3 O 2 nanoparticles via a template- and surfactant-free chemical reduction preparation at room temperature. Electrochemical results indicated that the bimetallic Pt 3 Co NWs/Ti 0.7 W 0.3 O 2 catalyst was an effective electrocatalyst toward alcohol (methanol, ethanol) electrochemical oxidation. For instance, the bimetallic Pt 3 Co NWs/Ti 0.7 W 0.3 O 2 catalyst exhibited high mass activity (MOR of ~393.29 mA m g P t - 1 and EOR of ~341.76 mA m g P t - 1 ), low onset potential (~0.01 V vs. NHE for MOR and ~0.20 V vs. NHE for EOR) and superior CO-tolerance (I f /I b value for MOR of ~3.11 and EOR of ~1.54) in comparison with the conventional carbon-supported Pt nanoparticles (NPs) catalyst. Additionally, the mass activity loss of the Ti 0.7 W 0.3 O 2 -supported Pt 3 Co (NWs) catalyst was ~10.68% of the initial mass activity, which ~4.18-time lower than that of the carbon-supported Pt (NPs) catalyst (~44.66% of the initial mass activity) after 5000 cycles test, indicating the superior stability retention of the as-obtained Pt 3 Co NWs/Ti 0.7 W 0.3 O 2 electrocatalyst . These enhancements were attributable to the combination of the advantageous 1D nanostructures with the internal effect of the Pt 3 Co nanowires, the synergistic effect between Pt-M alloy and TiO 2 -based nanomaterials and the superior anti-corrosion possibility of the non-carbon support.