Fabrication and characterization of well-dispersed and highly stable PtRu nanoparticles on carbon mesoporous material for applications in direct methanol fuel cell

Well-dispersed, highly stable PtRu nanoparticles of ca. 2-3 nm on carbon mesoporous materials (PtRu-CMMs) were synthesized directly using SBA-15 mesoporous silica as the template, furfuryl alcohol and trimethylbenzene as the primary carbon source, and platinum and ruthenium acetylacetonates as the cofeeding metal and carbon precursors. Results obtained from X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy show that the Pt metal in the PtRu-CMMs was present in the form of a face-centered cubic (fee) crystalline structure and the alloyed PtRu nanoparticles were composed mainly of Ru oxides, Ru(O), and Pt(O) metals. Further studies by X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirmed that a highly alloyed state of the PtRu nanoparticles is responsible for the superior electrocatalytic performance observed for the PtRu-CMMs, as compared to typical commercial electrocatalysts. The Pt₅₀Ru₅₀-CMM sample was found to possess the best electrocatalytic performance and long-term durability and should appeal to direct methanol fuel cell applications as anodic electrodecatalyst.