Hydrogenotitanates nanotubes supported platinum anode for direct methanol fuel cell

Hydrogenotitanates nanotubes (HTNs) are prepared from TiO2 powder via hydrothermal processing in 11.25 M NaOH aq. The reaction temperature is 130 degrees C for 20 h. Afterward a heat treatment is done during 2 h at 500 degrees C in air, to obtain calcined HTNs (HTNs-cal). The structural change on the molecular TiO2 during the hydrothermal treatment is investigated in detail by various analytic techniques such as XRD and TEM, which reveal that the crystal structure of the HTNs materials is similar to that of H2Ti2O5 center dot H2O nanotubes with 160 nm in length and 10 nm in diameter. Nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms indicate that synthesized solids are mesoporous materials with a multiwalled nanotubular structure and high specific surface area. Platinum nanoparticles are deposited on the HTNs by the impregnation method for a total noble metal loading of 10 wt%. The electrocatalytic activity of these electrocatalysts is evaluated by cyclic voltammetry in acid medium. Typical CO stripping voltammetry in acidic solutions is investigated. The results demonstrate that the HTNs can greatly enhance the catalytic activity of Pt for methanol oxidation. The CO stripping test shows that the Pt/HTNs can shift the CO oxidation potential to lower direction than Pt/C (XC72) and Pt/HTNs-cal catalysts. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.