First-principles study of effect of CO to oxidize methanol to formic acid in alkaline media on PtAu(111) and Pt(111) surfaces

Abstract

Density functional theory calculations have been performed to investigate methanol oxidation to formic acid on PtAu(111) and Pt(111) surfaces with and without CO in alkaline media. The calculated results show that the pre-adsorbed CO species promotes almost every step involved in the oxidation of methanol on PtAu(111) and Pt(111) surfaces, which is similar to that observed on a Au(111) surface. These findings may be attributed to the relatively high stability and strong basicity of the OH species induced by the adsorption of CO, and the enhanced ability to strip the H atoms.