Electrocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide and methanol at Pt nanoparticles confined in SBA-15: voltammetric and in situ infrared spectroscopic studies

Electrocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide and methanol at Pt nanoparticles confined in mesoporous molecular sieve SBA-15 was studied by using cyclic voltammetry and in situ FTIR spectroscopy. Cyclic voltammetric studies revealed that the Pt nanoparticles confined in SBA-15 exhibit a high activity in the presence of hydrated phase consisting of SiO2 in the SBA-15. In situ FTIR spectroscopy results discovered that IR absorption of CO adsorbed on Pt nanoparticles confined in SBA-15 has been enhanced 11-fold, and the full-width at half-maximum of the CO band is significantly increased, in comparison with IR feature of CO adsorbed on a bulk Pt electrode. The linearly adsorbed CO species is the only intermediate derived from dissociative adsorption of methanol, which is more readily oxidized to form CO2 in the aid of the active oxide in SBA-15.