Methanol electro-oxidation on Cu@Pt/C core-shell catalyst derived from Cu-MOF

Core-shell structured Cu@Pt/C catalyst was fabricated by a simple three-step procedure involving hydrothermal synthesis of copper-centered metal organic framework (Cu-MOF), carbon-supported copper nanoparticles (Cu/C) by direct carbonization at 600 degrees C and partial galvanic replacement of Cu particle layers by Pt in a chloroplatinate solution. The characterization of Cu@Pt/C catalyst is achieved by XRD (X-ray powder diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy) and voltammetry techniques. Cu@Pt/C catalyst has shown much larger electrochemical active surface area (ECSA, 74.3 m(2).g(-1)) than commercial Pt/C catalyst (50.4 m(2).g(-1)). Furthermore, nearly four-fold enhancement of activity of Cu@Pt/C catalyst for methanol oxidation has been observed. Moreover, the charge transfer resistance of methanol oxidation for Cu@Pt/C catalyst is 22.8 Omega cm(-2), lower than that for Pt/C catalyst (73.7 Omega cm(-2)). Additionally, Cu@Pt/C catalyst exhibits a superior catalytic stability. The electronic effect modification and large ECSA may be collectively responsible for the enhanced catalytic activity of Cu@Pt/C over Pt/C.