Enhancing Methanol Oxidation Reaction with Platinum-based Catalysts using a N-Doped Three-dimensional Graphitic Carbon Support

Nitrogen-doped graphitic carbon materials have been widely used as a catalyst support in the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). In this study, we report the role of three-dimensionally architectured in-situ N-doped vertically aligned carbon nanofibers (VACNF) as a catalyst support for MOR in acidic and alkaline media. The abundant graphitic edge sites at the sidewall of N-doped VACNF strongly anchor the deposited platinum group metal (PGM) catalysts and induce a partial electron transfer between the PGM catalysts and support. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations reveal that the strong metal-support interaction substantially increases the adsorption energy of OH, particularly near the N-doping sites, which helps to compete and remove the adsorbed intermediate species generated during MOR. The PGM catalysts on N-doped VACNF support exhibits CO stripping at lower potentials comparing to the commercial Vulcan carbon support and presents an enhanced electrocatalytic performance and better durability for MOR.