Boosting alcohol electro-oxidation reaction with bimetallic PtRu nanoalloys supported on robust Ti0.7W0.3O2 nanomaterial in direct liquid fuel cells

In this work, an anatase Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂-supported Pt₃Ru nanoparticles (NPs) were fabricated by combining the advantages of the non-carbon Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ nanosupport and the synergistic effect of the bimetallic Pt₃Ru nanoalloy that was investigated as electrocatalyst toward alcohol electrochemical oxidation. The bimetallic Pt₃Ru nanoparticles with ~3 nm in diameter were relatively well-dispersed on the surface of the anatase Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ nanosupport via a surfactant-free microwave-assisted polyol route that, which was attributable to the good dispersibility of ethylene glycol and the rapid, uniformity of the microwave heating. For methanol and ethanol electrochemical oxidation, the as-obtained Pt₃Ru (NPs)/Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ electrocatalyst exhibited the low onset potential (~0.10 V vs. NHE for MOR and ~0.35 V vs. NHE for EOR) and high mass activity (~350.84 mA mg_Pt^?1 for MOR and ~274.59 mA mg_Pt^?1 for EOR) compared to the commercial Pt (NPs)/C (E-TEK) electrocatalyst. Additionally, the CO-stripping and CA results indicated the remarkably enhanced CO-tolerance of the Pt₃Ru (NPs)/Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ catalyst. After the 5000-cycle accelerated durability test (ADT) in acidic ethanol media, the bimetallic Pt₃Ru (NPs)/Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ catalyst only showed the mass activity loss of 19.11% of its initial mass activity, compared with the severe deterioration of 44.04% of the commercial Pt (NPs)/C (E-TEK) catalyst. The outstanding results could be interpreted due to the bifunctional mechanism of the Pt₃Ru nanoalloys combining with the synergistic effect between the bimetallic nanoalloy and the mesoporous Ti_0.7W_0.3O₂ nanosupport as well as the superior anti-corrosion of the TiO₂-based nanosupport under acidic and oxidative environments.