The design of bifunctional catalysts
with high performance and
low platinum for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the methanol
oxidation reaction (MOR) is of significant implication to promote
the industrialization of fuel cells. In our work, Pt/carbon nanotube
(CNT), Pt3Ru/CNT, and PtRu/CNT catalysts were synthesized
by plasma heat treatment, in which the pyrolysis reduction of organometallic
salts and the dispersion of CNTs were achieved simultaneously, and
catalytic nanoparticles with uniform particle size were anchored on
the dispersed CNT surface. Later, Fe was further introduced, and PtFe/CNT,
Pt3RuFe/CNT, and PtRuFe/CNT catalysts were synthesized
by calcination, and the structure and electrochemical properties in
both MOR and ORR of all as-synthesized catalysts were investigated.
The results indicated that plasma thermal treatment has the advantage
of rapidness and immediacy in the synthesis of catalysts, and the
Pt/CNT, Pt3Ru/CNT, and PtRu/CNT catalysts exhibited better
electrocatalytic properties than commercial platinum (JM-Pt/C) catalysts.
Meanwhile, the introduction of Fe during the calcination further changed
the surface electronic properties of catalytic nanoparticles and enhanced
the graphitization degree of catalysts; the PtRuFe/CNT catalyst exhibited
outstanding electrocatalytic properties with a mass activity of 834.3
mA mg–1 for MOR and a half-wave potential of 0.928
V in alkaline media for ORR. The combination of plasma thermal treatment
and calcination puts forward a novel strategy for the optimization
of catalysts, and the synthesis method based on plasma dispersion
needs to be further optimized to achieve its large-scale promotion.