A highly-efficient and durable Pt-based electrocatalyst decorated by Co2C-Mo2C@CS composite for methanol oxidation reaction

Designing highly efficient electrocatalysts for the methanol electro-oxidation is an ongoing challenge. Herein, we report that molybdenum carbide (Mo2C) and cobalt carbide (Co2C) are grown in situ on the surface of carbon spheres to form Co2C-Mo2C@CS carrier material by the impregnation-reduction-annealing process, and then Pt nanoparticles are deposited on the Co2C-Mo2C@CS surface through sodium borohydride reduction method. In-depth material characterizations and electrochemical analyses demonstrate that the introduction of small-sized Mo2C-Co2C composites can facilitate mass transfer and increase the solid-liquid interface area. As expected, the resulting Pt/Co2C-Mo2C@CS catalyst displays excellent methanol oxidation activity (1504.5 mA mgPt(-1)), enhanced CO tolerance and stability comparing with other catalysts, which mainly derived from the metal-support interaction between Co2C-Mo2C and small-sized Pt NPs. The rational design of Pt/Co2C-Mo2C@CS catalyst provides a feasible strategy for boosting the overall performance of Pt-based catalysts towards methanol oxidation, and broadens the potential applications of metal carbides.

Automated summary

A novel Pt/Co2C-Mo2C@CS catalyst has been developed by growing molybdenum carbide and cobalt carbide on the surface of carbon spheres and depositing platinum nanoparticles, demonstrating significantly improved methanol oxidation activity and stability, mainly attributed to the metal-support interaction.