Tin oxide nanoparticle-modified commercial PtRu catalyst for methanol oxidation

Abstract

The electrocatalytic performance of commercial PtRu/C is significantly enhanced by directly mixing a few SnO2 nanoparticles. The composite catalysts show enhanced CO oxidation, higher activity and better stability than commercial PtRu/C. Among the different ratios of SnO2 nanoparticles (10-40%), the SnO2-PtRu/C (20%) composite catalyst shows the best catalytic activity for methanol oxidation. The effect of temperature on methanol oxidation was also investigated and the apparent activation energy (E a) value of catalyst was obtained. The results here suggest a simple route to enhance the catalytic efficiency for commercial PtRu/C catalyst. © 2013 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.