Preparation and characterization of platinum nano particles modified with praseodymium and cerium mixed oxide on MWCNT for methanol electro-oxidation

The Pr_xCe_1-xO_2-δ nano oxides were synthesized by the reverse-coprecipitation method, loaded on MWCNT. The platinum nano hydro-sol was attained by potassium borohydride assisted with sodium citrate homogenously. The Pt-Pr_xCe_1-xO_2-δ/CNT nano composite was obtained finally. The scanning electron microscope and X-ray diffraction were used to characterize the morphology of the samples. The cyclic-voltam-mogram was measured for methanol oxidation. The mass fraction of all the samples was 20%. Due to the electro-chemical behavior of the obtained catalysts in methanol and sulfuric acid, the onset potential of Pt-Pr_xCe_1-xO_2-δ/CNT was lower than which of pure Pt/CNT, which showed a tendency of methanol and its oxides species on Pt-Pr_xCe_1-xO_2-δ/CNT. It was higher for the ratio of current density in the forward scanning than which in the backward scanning, which indicated that the tolerance against carbon monoxide of Pt-Pr_xCe_1-xO_2-δ/CNT was better than the Pt/CNT without modification.