Ultrasonically treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as PtRu catalyst supports for methanol electrooxidation

In the quest of fabricating supported catalysts, experimental results of transmission electron microscopy, Raman and infrared spectroscopy indicate that ultrasonic treatment effectively functionalizes multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), endowing them with groups that can act as nucleation sites which can favor well-dispersed depositions of PtRu clusters on their surface. Ultrasonic treatment seems to be superior than functionalization via regular refluxing. This is confirmed by the determination of the electrochemistry active surface area (ECA) and the CO-tolerance performance of the PtRu catalysts, measured by adsorbed CO-stripping voltammetry in 0.5 M sulfuric acid solution, and the real surface area of the PtRu catalysts, evaluated by Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) measurements. Finally, the effectiveness for methanol oxidation is assessed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in a sulfuric acid and methanol electrolyte.