The Pt/g-C3N4-CNS catalyst via in situ synthesis process with excellent performance for methanol electrocatalytic oxidation reaction

This study reports the preparation of a graphite carbon nitride (C3N4) and carbon nanosheet (CNS) composite support (g-C3N4-CNS) by in situ synthesis (IS), and the effect of the Pt-based catalyst on methanol electrocatalytic oxidation (MOR) was investigated. The experiment proved that Pt/IS-g-C3N4-CNS has higher MOR catalytic performance and stability than Pt/MS-g-C3N4-CNS, which was prepared by mechanical synthesis. Notably, the Pt/IS-g-C3N4-CNS catalyst has the best electrocatalytic activity. The current density of the Pt/IS-g-C3N4-CNS catalyst is 105.1 mA cm(-2), and its chronoamperometry current loss rate is 66.4%, which is much higher than that of Pt/MS-g-C3N4-CNS. Through BET, TEM, XRD, and XPS characterization, it was found that the in situ synthesized g-C3N4-CNS composite support has stronger interaction, larger specific surface area, and higher pyridine nitrogen and pyrrole nitrogen content, which jointly promote the dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and present superior electrocatalytic performance for the MOR reaction.

Automated summary

This study prepared a graphite carbon nitride and carbon nanosheet composite support through in situ synthesis and investigated the effect of Pt-based catalysts on methanol electrocatalytic oxidation. The results showed that the in situ synthesized composite support exhibited higher catalytic performance and stability compared to mechanically synthesized support. The characterization results revealed that the in situ synthesized support had stronger interaction, larger specific surface area, and higher nitrogen content, resulting in better dispersion of Pt nanoparticles and superior electrocatalytic performance for the MOR reaction.