Abstract
Pt-based catalysts are still most attractive and could be the major driving force for facile electrochemical reactions in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). In this work, a Pt3Mn nanowire network structures (NWNs) catalyst was successfully synthesized by a soft template (CTAB) method. The morphology and elemental composition of the Pt3Mn NWNs were investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). The electrocatalytic behavior of the synthesized Pt3Mn NWNs catalyst towards methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) was studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The results reveal that the Pt3Mn NWNs has superior MOR activity and durability compared to Pt NWNs and commercial Pt/C. The mass and specific activities of Pt3Mn NWNs are 0.843 A mg−1 and 1.8 mA cm−2 respectively, which are twice that of commercial Pt/C. Additionally, the results of CA test indicate that the Pt3Mn NWNs possesses better durability than Pt NWNs and commercial Pt/C catalysts in acidic media, which is expected to be a new alternative anode material in DMFCs.
•A Pt3Mn NWNS catalyst was synthesized by a facile one-pot co-reduction method.•The Pt3Mn NWNS with unique nanowire network can provide more active sites.•The Pt3Mn NWNS showed superior activity and stability towards MOR.•The enhanced performance was derived from the synergistic effect of Mn and Pt.