Boron-doped silicon carbide supported Pt catalyst for methanol electrooxidation

Boron-doped silicon carbide (B_0.1SiC) synthesized by the carbothermal reduction method was used as support to prepare Pt/B_0.1SiC catalyst by cyclic voltammtric deposition of Pt nanoparticles. The crystal structure, surface property and morphology of the catalysts were studied with X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy techniques and N₂ adsorption-desorption experiment. It is shown that B atoms have been incorporated into the SiC lattice sites by substituting Si,which increases the electrical conductivity of SiC. Pt nanoparticles uniformly dispersed on the B_0.1SiC support with an average size of 2.7 nm. The prepared Pt/B_0.1SiC had a larger electrochemically active area and exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity and stability for methanol oxidation than the Pt/SiC synthesized by the same method. This shows that B-doped SiC is a promising support for preparing high-performance methanol oxidation electrocatalysts.