The effect of electrochemically treated glassy carbon on the activity of supported Pt catalyst in methanol oxidation

Abstract

Effect of electrochemical oxidation of glassy carbon on deposition of platinum particles and electrocatalytic activity of platinum supported on oxidized glassy carbon (Pt/GCOX) were studied for methanol oxidation in H2SO4 solution. Platinum was potentiostatically deposited from H2SO4 + H2PtCl6 solution. Glassy carbon was anodically polarised in 0.5 M H2SO4 at 2.25 V vs. saturated calomel electrode (SCE) during 35 s. Electrochemical treatment of GC support, affecting not significantly the real Pt surface area, leads to a better distribution of platinum on the substrate and has remarkable effect on the activity. The activity of the Pt/GCOX electrode for methanol oxidation is larger than polycrystalline Pt and for more than one order of magnitude larger than Pt/GC electrode. This increase in activity indicates the pronounced role of organic residues of GC support on the properties of Pt particles deposited on glassy carbon.