Effect of carbon supported Pt-Ni catalysts on oxygen reduction for direct methanol fuel cell

The catalyst Pt-Ni supported on carbon with different atomic ratios of Pt to Ni was prepared by the interval microwave method and its performance on the oxygen reduction for direct methanol fuel cell application was investigated. The results show that the active particles of the catalysts prepared in this way were highly dispersed and in small size. The catalyst PtNi/C(3∶1) (with the atomic Pt/Ni ratio being 3) has the smallest particle size; it also exhibits the highest activity for oxygen reduction, no matter whether methanol is present or not in the electrolyte, indicating a small effect of methanol on its catalytic performance for oxygen reduction.