The catalytic activity of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles (NPs) towards methanol electrooxidation in alkaline media was demonstrated to be dependent on their interactions with their nanostructured ceria support. Ceria nanorods (NRs) with diameters of 5 to 10 nm and lengths of 15 to 50 nm as well as ceria NPs with diameters of 2 to 6 nm were applied as supports for similarly sized Pt NPs with diameters of 2 to 5 nm.Cyclic voltammetry data showed that Pt NPs supported on ceria NPs exhibited a 2-to-5-fold higher catalytic current density versus ceria NRs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic data indicated that Pt NPs deposited onto ceria NRs were disproportionally composed of oxidized species (Pt

Platinum was electrodeposited onto Y-zeolite and Y-zeolite (Y)/Vulcan XC-72R (V) to produce Pt/Y/V and Pt/Y catalysts using a rotating disk slurry electrode technique. The activities of the two catalysts were measured towards methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The materials were examined using electron microscopy. The results were compared to those obtained on commercial catalysts. Pt/Y/V (with 14 wt% Pt) catalyst was the most active, even more so than a commercial Pt/V catalyst with 20 wt% Pt. The Pt/Y/V catalysts contained Pt nanoparticles and tetrahedra, likely a consequence of the nucleation and growth within the zeolite framework.

Multi-functional anode catalysts composed of platinum (Pt) nanoparticles electrodeposited on 2 wt% Pt decorated ceria (Pt:CeO2−x) nanorod supports were shown to enhance the alkaline electrocatalytic oxidation of short chain alcohols.

A wet chemistry synthesis of Pt-Ce doped catalysts on carbon Vulcan support using an impregnation method with EDTA is presented. The composite catalyst was characterized by XRD, XPS and TEM. The catalytic activity of the prepared material was tested in a direct fuel cell using methanol, ethanol and hydrogen as fuels. The polarization and power curves showed that the Vulcan/Pt/Ce(III) doped catalysts improved the performance of the fuel cells when compared with Vulcan-Pt anode materials.