Facile one-pot synthesis of Pt/graphene-TiO₂ hybrid catalyst with enhanced methanol electrooxidation performance

Pt/graphene-TiO₂ hybrid catalysts have been synthesized by a facile one-pot solvothermal method. The Structural properties of obtained Pt/graphene-TiO₂ catalysts are characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy dispersive analysis of X-ray (EDAX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).Interesting, TEM presents Pt nanoparticles seem preferentially to locate between TiO₂ and graphene, forming the unique triple junctions structure. The electrochemical experimental results indicate that Pt/graphene-TiO₂ catalyst exhibits 1.46 times higher activity for methanol electrooxidation than that of Pt/graphene and its stability is improved by 15% as compared with Pt/graphene. Moreover, performance of Pt/graphene-TiO₂ hybrid catalyst is evaluated by the Single Fuel Cell Tests for the first time. Single fuel cell tests show the maximum power density of the direct methanol fuel cell using Pt/graphene-TiO₂ as the anode catalyst is increased by 55% compared with that using Pt/graphene catalyst at the same operating conditions. The significantly enhanced electrochemical performance can be ascribed to (1) the synergetic effect between Pt, graphene and TiO₂; (2) strong metal-support interaction (SMSI) between Pt nanoparticles and TiO₂. These findings suggest their great potential applications in fuel cells.