Highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles supported on manganese oxide-poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-carbon nanotubes composite for enhanced methanol electrooxidation

We herein report a novel Pt-based electrocatalyst for direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) using multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) supported manganese oxide and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanocomposite (MnOx-PEDOT-MWCNTs) as catalyst support for Pt nanoparticles. The prepared nanocomposites are characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical tests. The results demonstrate that Pt nanoparticles are uniformly deposited on the surface of MnOx-PEDOT-MWCNTs, and their dispersion and electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) are obviously improved. The methanol electrooxidation activity and stability of the Pt/MnOx-PEDOT-MWCNTs are significantly enhanced as compared with the Pt/PEDOT-MWCNTs and Pt/MWCNTs catalysts. This study implies that the as-prepared Pt/MnOx-PEDOT-MWCNTs will be a promising candidate as an anode electrocatalyst in DMFCs. (c) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.