Electrocatalytic activity of DMFC PtSn/C catalyst for methanol oxidation

The PtSn/C catalyst was prepared by the low-temperature solid phase reaction method. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to characterize the crystallinity and particle size of the catalyst. The results indicate that the PtSn/C and Pt/C catalyst prepared by the same low-temperature solid phase reaction method both have platinum fcc structure. The addition of Sn can increase the lattice parameter of Pt. Compared with the Pt/C catalyst prepared by the same method, the PtSn/C catalyst shows a higher dispersion and a smaller particle size and its mean particle size is about 4.8 nm, therefore the PtSn/C catalyst has a higher active specific surface area. The results of electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the PtSn/C catalyst has a better electrocatalytic activity for the methanol oxidation than Pt/C catalyst.