Active Methanol Oxidation Reaction by Enhanced CO Tolerance on Bimetallic Pt/Ir Electrocatalysts Using Electronic and Bifunctional Effects

Platinum-based metal alloys have been generally developed to provide high carbon monoxide resistance in the anodes of direct methanol fuel cells. We report the potential of bimetallic platinum/iridium electrocatalysts in preserving the outstanding carbon monoxide tolerance obtained from both experimental and theoretical studies, which represents the enhanced electrochemical performance of methanol oxidation and the in-depth and stepwise investigations for reaction mechanisms, respectively. In this study, the findings highlight the dual-enhancement characteristics of low carbon monoxide adsorption energy (electronic effect) and carbon monoxide oxidative removal (bifunctional effect) compared with various electrocatalysts such as platinum, iridium, and platinum/ruthenium alloys. In addition, the reaction affinity of platinum/iridium alloys for methanol dehydrogenation is also studied in accordance with atomistic properties, such as adsorption energy and electronic band gap, to understand the electrochemical...