Electrocatalytic Properties of Pt Nanowires Supported on Pt and W Gauzes

This paper describes the preparation of Pt- or W-supported Pt nanowires by directly growing them on the surface of Pt or W gauze. The growth direction of the nanowires was determined to be along the < 111 > axis. Electrochemical measurements were performed to investigate their catalytic performance toward methanol oxidation. It was found from cyclic voltammetry that the Pt nanowires supported on Pt gauze had the largest electrochemically active surface area with the greatest activity toward methanol oxidation reaction. They also exhibited a slightly slower current decay over time, indicating a higher tolerance to CO-like intermediates. Furthermore, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements showed that the catalytic performance of the supported Pt nanowires prepared with a H2PtCl6 precursor concentration of 40 mM is significantly better for methanol oxidation than the samples prepared at a concentration of 80 mM. This was due partially to the incomplete removal of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) (PVP) from the more concentrated sample. In contrast, the Pt nanowires supported on W gauze performed the worst.