Boron-doped silicon carbide supported Pt catalyst for methanol electrooxidation

Boron-doped silicon carbide (B0.1SiC) synthesized by the carbothermal reduction method was used as support to prepare Pt/B0.1SiC catalyst by cyclic voltammtric deposition of Pt nanoparticles. The crystal structure, surface property and morphology of the catalysts were studied with X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques and N2 adsorption-desorption experiment. It is shown that B atoms have been incorporated into the SiC lattice sites by substituting Si, which increases the electrical conductivity of SiC. Pt nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on the B0.1SiC support with an average size of 2.7 nm. The prepared Pt/B0.1SiC had a larger electrochemically active area and exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity and stability for methanol oxidation than the Pt/SiC synthesized by the same method. This shows that B-doped SiC is a promising support for preparing high-performance methanol oxidation electrocatalysts.