Bimetallic Pt-Ru nanowire network for anode material in a direct-methanol fuel cell

A new bimetallic nanostructured Pt-Ru material is synthesized in an SBA-15 nanoreactor and compared with commercial Pt-Ru black (Johnson Matthey). Transmission electron microscopic and X-ray diffraction studies of the synthesized material show that, as with a network structure, the Pt-Ru nanowires are interconnected via smaller ones. The catalytic activity (measured in cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments) for methanol electro-oxidation on the material is lower than that for commercial Pt-Ru black at potentials below 550 mV versus the reversible hydrogen electrode. By contrast, a direct-methanol fuel cell (DMFC) in which the nanostructured material is used as an anode material shows higher performance than with Pt-Ru black, because the network structure leads to an effective mass transfer in the membrane-electrode assembly. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.