Construction of 3D Pt Catalysts Supported on Co-Doped SnO2 Nanourchins for Methanol and Ethanol Electrooxidation

Pt nanoparticles on Co-doped SnO2 nanostructures have been synthesized and used for methanol and ethanol electrooxidation. The hierarchical Co-SnO2 nanostructure with urchin-like morphology, self-assembled from numerous thin nanoneedles, provides a three-demensional (3D) frame for supporting Pt nanoparticles. The as-prepared Pt/Co-SnO2(urchin) nanocatalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersiveX-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) and chronoamperometry were carried out to comparatively investigate electrochemical properties of Pt/Co-SnO2(urchin), Pt/Co-SnO2(flower), Pt/SnO2 and Pt/C electrocatalysts. The urchin-shaped Pt/Co-SnO2 electrocatalyst shows better catalytic activity and higher catalytic stability compared with the other electrocatalysts. (C) 2014 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.