Modulating Effect of Core Composition in AuxCuy@Pt/C Core-Shell Nanoparticles for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction

In the past decades, direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) has attracted much interest for their significant advantages in portable and automobile applications, for this technology the anode electrocatalyst is the most important part. The Pt catalyst is widely recognized as the best catalyst for DMFC and one of the key objectives in fuel cell technology is to improve the electrochemical activity and reduce Pt loading of the electrocatalyst. One way to reduce the Pt content in the electrocatlyst is by synthetizing core–shell structural catalysts, in which only surface atoms are active in the catalytic reaction (i.e. Pt as shell). In this work, the modulating effect given by the composition of the core in Au_xCu_y@Pt/C  for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) is analyzed. For this purpose, Au_xCu_y@Pt/C catalysts were prepared varying the Au:Cu percentage (i.e. 100:0%, 75:25%, 50:50%, 25:75%, 0:100%), the catalysts were prepared by a two-step method.