Nanostructured TiMo₃O₂ as Efficient Non-Carbon Support for PtRu Catalysts in Direct Methanol Fuel Cells.

This study was focused on a new strategy by investigating whether the novel Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 material can be used as a conductive support for PtRu to prevent carbon corrosion and improve catalyst activity as the novel Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 support has some functional advantages. The 30 wt% PtRu/Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 catalyst showed the highest current density at the complete potential, which is approximately 12-fold and 1.4-fold higher than that of the commercial 20 wt% Pt/C (E-TEK) and 30 wt% PtRu/C (JM) catalysts, respectively, at 0.6 V (NHE) toward the methanol oxidation (MOR). Our data suggest that this enhancement is a result of the electronic Pt structure change upon its synergistic interaction with Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 support and the improved mass transport kinetics of PtRu/Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 compared to the carbon support (Pt or PtRu). The PtRu/Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 catalyst exhibited a much higher stability than carbon-supported catalysts because of the strong metal/support interactions between the Pt particles and Ti0.7Mo0.3O2, the inherent structural and chemical stability, and the corrosion resistance of the Ti0.7Mo0.3O2 in acidic and oxidative environments.