General synthesis of binary PtM and ternary PtM1M2 alloy nanoparticles on graphene as advanced electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation

Abstract

We developed a one-step method to obtain a high dispersion of Pt-based alloy nanoparticles on graphene by using both the carrier function and the reducibility of carbon without the addition of any other reducing agent. This method opens up a general and feasible route for the synthesis of different metals, and binary and ternary alloys (such as Pt, Pt–Cu, Pt–Ni, Pt–Ni–Cu, Pt–Co–Cu, Pt–Au–Cu, and so on) on graphene sheets, which would bring potential applications in many fields. Particularly in this study, the obtained PtCu/G composites exhibit superior electrochemical activities and high poison tolerance toward methanol oxidation compared to Pt/graphene and commercial Pt/graphene composites, demonstrating that PtCu/graphene can be used as a promising catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.