Enhancement in electro-oxidation of methanol over PtRu black catalyst through strong interaction with iron oxide nanocluster.

One of the major issues in direct methanol fuel cell research is to develop a new catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation reaction (MOR) with high activity and low cost. In this study, a new, simple, and economic way was introduced to improve the catalytic activity of commercial PtRu black catalyst for the MOR. A nanocomposite electrode was fabricated by mixing the PtRu catalyst with Fe(2)O(3) nanoclusters. When 10 wt % of the PtRu catalyst was replaced by the Fe(2)O(3) nanoclusters, mass activity (A/g(Pt)) increased by 80% compared to that of the pure PtRu catalyst. Specific activity of the mixed catalyst was 100% higher than that of the pure PtRu catalyst. The nanocomposite catalysts were also applied to single cells. Although the amount of the PtRu catalyst was reduced by 10 wt %, 10% higher potential was observed in the nanocomposite catalysts at a current density of 100 mA/cm(2).