Hydrothermal Synthesis of Pt-Ru/MWCNTs and its Electrocatalytic Properties for Oxidation of Methanol

Pt-Ru nanoparticles supported on multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). Pt-Ru nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on MWCNTs with the mean diameter of about 3.5 nm. The electro- catalytic oxidation of methanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and impedance spectroscopy in 0.5 M H2SO4 solution containing 1.0 M CH3OH. The results showed that the Pt-Ru/MWCNTs catalysts as prepared had higher electrocatalytic activities for methanol oxidation than that of Pt-Ru/MWCNTs synthesized by microwave heating method.