Preparation of PtSnSb/C by an alcohol reduction process for direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC)

PtSn/C and PtSnSb/C electrocatalysts (20 wt.% metal loading) were prepared by an alcohol reduction process using H₂PtCl₆.6H₂O, SnCl₂.2H₂O, and Sb(OOCCH3) as metal sources, ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent, and Vulcan XC72 as carbon support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy, while that the performance for ethanol oxidation was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperommetry (chrono) at room temperature. The diffractograms of the PtSn/C and PtSnSb/C electrocatalysts showed four peaks associated to Pt face-centered cubic structure and two peaks that were related to a SnO₂ phase. For PtSb/C and PtSnSb/C electrocatalysts, no Sb (antimony) peaks corresponding to a metallic antimony or antimony oxide phases were observed. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that the metal particles were homogeneously distributed over the support. The PtSnSb/C (50:45:05) electrocatalyst showed an increase of performance for ethanol oxidation in relation to PtSn/C electrocatalyst at room temperature. In the tests at 100 °C on a single cell of a direct ethanol fuel cell, the maximum power density of PtSnSb/C (50:45:05) electrocatalyst was slightly higher than that of PtSn/C electrocatalyst.     

Electro-oxidation of ethanol using PtRuBi/C electrocatalyst prepared by borohydride reduction

Pt/C, PtRu/C, PtBi/C, and PtRuBi/C electrocatalysts (20 wt.% metal loading) were prepared by borohydride reduction using H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O, RuCl₃·xH₂O, and Bi(NO₃)₃·5H₂O as metal sources and Vulcan XC 72 as support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and thermogravimetric analysis. The electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied in sulfuric acid solution by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The electrochemical studies showed that PtRuBi/C (50:40:10) electrocatalyst has superior performance for ethanol electro-oxidation at room temperature compared to the other electrocatalysts. Preliminary tests at 100 °C on a single direct ethanol fuel cell also confirm the results obtained by electrochemical techniques.     

Electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol on PtSn/C and PtSnNi/C electrocatalysts

A PtSn/C electrocatalyst with a Pt–Sn molar ratio of 50:50 and A PtSnNi/C electrocatalyst with a Pt–Sn–Ni molar ratio of 50:40:10 were prepared by alcohol-reduction process using ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, and cyclic voltammetry. The electro-oxidation of ethylene glycol was studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using the thin porous coating technique. PtSnNi/C electrocatalyst showed a superior performance compared to PtSn/C electrocatalysts in the potential range of interest for a direct ethylene glycol fuel cell.     

Preparation of PtSn/C electrocatalysts using citric acid as reducing agent for direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC)

PtSn/C electrocatalysts (Pt:Sn atomic ratios of 50:50 and 60:40) were prepared using citric acid as reducing agent, and the pH of the reaction medium was varied by the addition of OH⁻ ions. The obtained electrocatalysts were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrocatalysts were tested on the direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) at 90 °C. The obtained PtSn/C electrocatalysts showed the presence of a face-centered cubic, Pt, and SnO₂ phases. In DEFC studies, the PtSn/C electrocatalysts showed a superior performance compared to a commercial PtSn/C and Pt/C electrocatalysts from E-TEK.     

Preparation of PtSnRh/C-Sb2O5·SnO2 electrocatalysts by an alcohol reduction process for direct ethanol fuel cell

PtSnRh/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ electrocatalysts with different Pt/Sn/Rh atomic ratios (90:05:05, 70:25:05, and 50:45:05) were prepared by an alcohol reduction process using H₂PtCl₆·6H₂O, SnCl₂·2H₂O, RhCl₃·xH₂O as metal sources, ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent, and a physical mixture of Vulcan XC72 (85?wt%) and Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ (15?wt%) as support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The electro-oxidation of ethanol was studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry at 25 and 50?°C and in single direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC) at 100?°C. The diffractograms of PtSnRh/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ electrocatalysts showed the peaks characteristic of Pt face-centered cubic structure and several others peaks associated with ·SnO₂ and Sb₂O₅·SnO₂. Transmission electron micrographs of PtSnRh/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ electrocatalysts showed the metal nanoparticles distributed on the supports with particle sizes of about 2?C3?nm. The electrochemical measurements and the experiments in a single DEFC showed that PtSnRh/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ (90:05:05) and PtSnRh/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ (70:25:05) electrocatalysts exhibited higher performance for ethanol oxidation in comparison with PtSnRh/C electrocatalyst.     

Preparation and characterization of PtRu/C-rare earth using an alcohol-reduction process for ethanol electro-oxidation

PtRu/C (100% C) and PtRu/C-CeO₂, PtRu/C-La₂O₃, PtRu/C-Nd₂O₃, and PtRu/C-Er₂O₃ (85% C and 15% rare earth) electrocatalysts were prepared in a single step by an alcohol-reduction process using H₂PtCl₆ 6H₂O and RuCl₃ xH₂O as metal sources, ethylene glycol as solvent and reducing agent, Vulcan XC72 and rare earth (RE) as support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy dispersive X-ray, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. The performance for ethanol oxidation was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperommetry at room temperature, and studies on the direct ethanol fuel cell were carried at 100 °C. The Pt:Ru atomic ratios were similar to the nominal used in preparation, and the average particle sizes were in the range of 2.0–3.0 nm. All PtRu/C-RE electrocatalysts showed an increase of performance for ethanol oxidation at room temperature and also on a single direct ethanol fuel cell tests in relation to PtRu/C electrocatalyst at 100 °C.     

Electrooxidation of ethanol using Pt rare earth–C electrocatalysts prepared by an alcohol reduction process

Pt rare earth–C electrocatalysts (rare earth = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, and Lu) were prepared by an alcohol reduction process using ethylene glycol as reduction agent and solvent and Vulcan XC 72 as support. The electrocatalysts were characterized by energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and cyclic voltammetry. The electrooxidation of ethanol was studied in acid medium by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry using thin porous coating technique. The XRD patterns indicate that all electrocatalysts present the face-centered cubic structure of Pt and the presence of rare earth hydroxides. All electrocatalysts prepared by this methodology showed superior performance for ethanol electrooxidation at room temperature compared to Pt–C.     

Electrochemical characterization of platinum-based anode catalysts for membraneless fuel cells

In the present work, carbon-supported Pt–Sn, Pt–Ru, and Pt–Sn–Ru electrocatalysts with different atomic ratios were prepared by alcohol-reduction method to study the electro-oxidation of ethanol in membraneless fuel cells. The synthesized electrocatalysts were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The prepared catalysts had similar particle morphology, and their particle sizes were 2–5 nm. The electrocatalytic activities were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). The electrochemical results obtained at room temperature showed that the addition of Sn and Ru to the pure Pt electrocatalyst significantly improved its performance in ethanol electro-oxidation. The onset potential for ethanol electro-oxidation was 0.2 V vs. Ag/AgCl, in the case of the ternary Pt–Sn–Ru/C catalysts, which was lower than that obtained for the pure Pt catalyst (0.4 V vs. Ag/AgCl). During the experiments performed on single membraneless fuel cells, Pt ? Sn ? Ru/C (70:10:20) performed better among all the catalysts prepared with power density of 36 mW/cm². The better performance of ternary Pt–Sn–Ru/C catalysts may be due to the formation of a ternary alloy and the smaller particle size.     

Glycerol oxidation reaction using PdAu/C electrocatalysts

Glycerol oxidation reactions were evaluated using PdAu/C electrocatalysts under alkaline conditions. These electrocatalysts were synthesized in different ratios (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, and 0:100), using the borohydride reduction method. The materials were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and electrochemical techniques associated by in situ attenuated total reflectance Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). According to the XRD diffractograms, the presence of Pd and Au (face-centered cubic (fcc)) phases and Pd-Au (fcc) alloys were detected. Cyclic voltammetry assisted by ATR-FTIR in situ and chronoamperometry experiments revealed that the addition of Au remarkably enhances the electrocatalytic activity, due to the action of bifunctional effect, with addition of the interactions of alcohoxide with hydroxylate species in gold surface, and the stability of Pd/C catalysts. Highest current density (≈4 mA mg_metal ^?1) was achieved for the catalyst Pd₅₀Au₅₀/C and Pd₇₅Au₂₅/C, which is two times higher than that achieved by Pd/C (2 mA mg_metal ^?1), demonstrating the beneficial effect of the PdAu alloy.     

Exploration of bimetallic Pt-Pd/C nanoparticles as an electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction

In this study, carbon supported Pt and Pt-Pd were synthesized as oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysts for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs). Pt and Pt-Pd nanoparticles have been synthesized by reduction of metal precursors in presence of NaBH₄. Various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were utilized to study the prepared samples. Furthermore, electrochemical properties of the prepared samples were evaluated from cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry (LSV), chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results showed, the crystallite size of electrocatalysts (Pt and Pt-Pd) is below 10 nm. The higher catalytic activity was detected for Pt-Pd/C electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). In addition, it is believed that the better performance of electrocatalyst is related to the synergic effect between Pt and Pd nanoparticles, weakening of the OO bond on Pd-modified Pt nanoparticles in ORR, uniform dispersion of Pd and Pt on the carbon support and higher electrochemical active surface area (EAS) of Pt-Pd/C electrocatalyst.     

Preparation of PdAu/C-Sb2O5·SnO2 electrocatalysts by borohydride reduction process for direct formic acid fuel cell

Pd/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ and PdAu/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ electrocatalysts with different PdAu atomic ratio (90:10, 70:30, and 50:50) were prepared by borohydride reduction method, and characterized by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperommetry, and performance test on direct formic acid fuel cell at 100 °C. X-ray diffraction showed for Pd/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ the presence of Pd face-centered cubic (fcc) system, while for PdAu/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ it showed the presence of Pd fcc phase, PdAu fcc alloys and a segregated phases fcc Pd-rich and Au-rich phases. TEM micrographs and histograms for all electrocatalysts showed that the nanoparticles where not well dispersed on the support and some agglomerates were present. The electrochemical studies showed that PdAu/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ (70:30) had superior performance for formic acid electro-oxidation at 25 °C compared to others electrocatalysts prepared while PdAu/C-Sb₂O₅·SnO₂ (90:10) showed superior performance in direct formic acidic fuel cell at 100 °C. These results indicated that the addition of 10–30 % Au to Pd favor the electro-oxidation of formic acid. This effect could be attributed to the synergy between the constituents of the electrocatalyst (metallic Pd and Au, SnO₂, and Sb₂O₅·SnO₂).     

不同温度下乙醇电氧化过程的原位红外光谱研究

直接乙醇燃料电池因其优异的性能备受关注。乙醇的电催化氧化并非简单的燃烧,涉及多种催化反应过程。乙醇的C-C键断裂选择性低,以及乙醇氧化中间产物C1分子由于没有及时氧化离开催化剂表面而造成的催化剂中毒,是制约其应用的瓶颈问题。电化学原位红外光谱是在电化学反应的同时,原位采集反应物种特定官能团的振动信息,可在分子水平揭示反应过程,推测反应机理。不同温度条件下乙醇电氧化过程的研究,有助于合理的设计高性能乙醇燃料电池催化剂。选用高性能的PtRh/RGO催化剂,结合同位素示踪法和电化学原位红外光谱技术,研究了不同温度下乙醇的电氧化过程。循环伏安研究表明,乙醇电氧化性能及其C-C键断裂的程度为PtRh/RGO (45℃)>PtRh/RGO (25℃)>商业Pt/C。电化学原位红外光谱从分子水平跟踪了乙醇的电氧化过程,观察到随着电位的增加, CO2, CO,-CH3,-C-O特征峰的强度逐渐增加。CO2和CH3COOH分别归属于乙醇完全氧化和不完全氧化的终产物,因此红外光谱中两种物质特征峰积分面积的比值[CO2]/[CH3COOH]可做为CO2选择性的量度。用来定量标定CH3COOH的特征峰是位于1 280 cm-1的-C-O振动峰,但对于PtRh/RGO催化剂的红外光谱而言,它的乙酸特征峰振动峰位1 280 cm-1附近出现1 214 cm-1甲醇衍生物的振动峰,通过一种反射红外光谱与标样透射红外光谱差减扣除叠加峰方法,定量计算了叠加峰中1 280 cm-1特征峰的积分强度,从而计算出PtRh/RGO的CO2选择性。结果表明对比25℃时, 45℃下PtRh/RGO具有更高的选择性, 0.3 V时提高48.1%, 0.5和0.6 V时略有提高, 0.4 V时降低,这可能是乙醇中β-C和水中OH竞争吸附所致。在两种反应温度条件下, CO2选择性都在电位高于0.4 V时呈现下降趋势。为了进一步研究CO2来源于α-C或β-C的完全氧化,使用同位素标记的13CH312CH2OH做为探针分子,通过电化学原位红外光谱研究了25和45℃下PtRh/RGO电极上乙醇电氧化过程。结果表明,β-C完全氧化为CO2的起始电位与温度无关,都为0.3 V。通过用13CO2/12CO2积分面积的比值定量分析,发现45℃下,该比值在电位0.3~0.5 V时相比于25℃下分别增加0.11, 0.18和0.22,表明随着温度或电位的增加,β-C完全氧化的选择性增加。     

Novel synthesis and characterization of nanocomposite Pt-WO3-TiO2/C electrocatalyst for PEMFC

In this study, an effective preparation of Pt-WO₃-TiO₂/C electrocatalysts has been developed for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. The single cell performance of Vulcan XC-72R carbon-supported Pt-WO₃-TiO₂ electrocatalysts with various compositions (as weight percentage Pt-W-Ti 0:5:5, 2:4:4, 4:3:3, 6:2:2, and 8:1:1) as anode materials are investigated in PEMFC. These catalysts are compared with 10 % Pt/C on the same Vulcan XC-72R carbon support and 10 % Pt/C (commercial) electrocatalyst. The physical and morphological characterization of the optimized Pt-WO₃-TiO₂/C, 10 % Pt/C, and 10 % Pt/C (commercial) electrocatalysts are further investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Among all the molar ratio of the catalysts, the Pt-W-Ti (4:3:3) molar ratio catalyst exhibited the larger electrochemical active surface area. The electrochemical performance of Pt-WO₃-TiO₂/C (with a weight percentage of Pt-W-Ti 4:3:3) as anode material is better than those of other compositions of Pt-WO₃-TiO₂/C catalysts. The amount of platinum was also reduced from 1.76 to 0.704 mg cm^?2 which exhibited higher performance in single cell tests. Platinum shows a smaller-sized crystalline structure in XRD and TEM analysis. High performance indicates that enhanced proton transport occurs through the use of this catalyst.     

Elucidating iron doping induced n- to p- characteristics of Strontium titanate based ethanol sensors

A series of pure and iron doped strontium titanate, (SrFe_xTi_1-xO₃; x = 0, 0.1 and 0.2) powders were synthesized, characterized and used to fabricate ethanol sensors for low concentration. X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) technique was used to confirm the single phase formation. Microstructural properties of the powders were investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Electrical conductivity of all the samples at room temperature (RT) was measured. Sensors were optimized for best responsiveness by varying the operating temperature from 350 °C to 500 °C.The sensor with doping x = 0.2 exhibited best sensing response at 400 °C for ethanol gas. The undoped sensor demonstrated a decrease in resistance on exposure to ethanol gas whereas Fe-doped sensors showed increase in resistance. The doping induced changeover from n to p behavior in the sensing response on doping has been investigated and corroborated with an observed shift in the Fermi level position by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The disparity in gas sensing response clearly demonstrates inter-connection of multiple influencing factors such as electrical conductivity, morphology, porosity and change in chemical composition on doping. The sensors were exposed to ethanol, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, butane gases at concentration between 5 ppm and 50 ppm. The sensor exhibited much reduced relative response to all gases other than ethanol which can be utilized for wide range of applications.     

Fuel cell and electrochemical studies of the ethanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media using PtAuIr/C as anodes

Ethanol electro-oxidation reaction was investigated considering conventional electrochemical experiments in alkaline media, direct ethanol fuel cell (DEFC), and in situ ATR-FTIR. The working electrode/anodes were composed of monometallic Pt/C, Au/C, Ir/C, and trimetallic PtAuIr/C nanoparticles with atomic Pt/Au/Ir ratios of 40:50:10, 50:40:10, 60:30:10, 70:20:10, and 80:10:10. X-ray diffraction (XRD) suggests PtAuIr/C alloy formation, and according to transmission electron micrographs, the mean particle sizes are from 4 to 6 nm for all catalyst compositions. PtAuIr/C 40:50:10 showed the highest catalytic activity for ethanol electro-oxidation in the electrochemical experiments; using this material, the peak current density from ethanol electro-oxidation on cyclic voltammetry experiment was 50 mA per g of Pt, 3.5 times higher than that observed with Pt/C. The fuel cell performance was superior using all PtAuIr/C compositions than using Pt/C. Au/C and Ir/C presented very poor catalytic activity toward ethanol electro-oxidation. The improved results obtained using PtAuIr/C might be related to the OH_ads species formed at low overpotential on Ir and to the decrease on adsorption energy of poisoning intermediates on Pt sites, promoted by Au.     

Multiwalled carbon nanotube supported Pt–Sn–M (M = Ru,Ni, and Ir) catalysts for ethanol electrooxidation

In the present study, Pt–Sn–M (M = Ru, Ni, and Ir) nanocatalysts were supported on multiwalled carbon nanotube and their electrocatalytic activity for ethanol oxidation in membraneless fuel cells was investigated. The combination of monometallic Pt/MWCNTs, bi-metallic Pt–Sn/MWCNTs, and tri-metallic Pt–Sn–Ru/MWCNT, Pt–Sn–Ni/MWCNT, and Pt–Sn–Ir/MWCNT nanocatalysts were prepared by the ultrasonic assisted chemical reduction method. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used for the catalyst characterization. The electrocatalytic activities of the catalysts were investigated in half-cell experiments using cyclic voltammetry (CV), CO stripping voltammetry, and chronoamperometry (CA). During the experiments performed on a single membraneless ethanol fuel cell (MLEFC), the Pt–Sn–Ir/MWCNTs exhibited a better catalytic activity from among all the catalysts prepared, with a power density of 39.25 mW cm^?2.     

Nanosized IrO<Subscript>2</Subscript> electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction in an SPE electrolyzer

Nanosized IrO₂ electrocatalysts (d ~ 7–9 nm) with specific surface area up to 100 m² g⁻¹ were synthesized and characterized for the oxygen evolution reaction in a solid polymer electrolyte (SPE) electrolyzer. The catalysts were prepared by a colloidal method in aqueous solution and a subsequent thermal treatment. An iridium hydroxide hydrate precursor was obtained at ~100 °C, which was, successively, calcined at different temperatures from 200 to 500 °C. The physico-chemical characterization was carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry–differential scanning calorimetry (TG–DSC) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). IrO₂ catalysts were sprayed onto a Nafion 115 membrane up to a loading of 3 mg cm⁻². A Pt catalyst was used at the cathode compartment with a loading of 0.6 mg cm⁻². The electrochemical activity for water electrolysis of the membrane-electrode assemblies (MEAs) was investigated in a single cell SPE electrolyzer by steady-state polarization curves, impedance spectroscopy and chrono-amperometric measurements. A maximum current density of 1.3 A cm⁻² was obtained at 1.8 V and 80 °C for the IrO₂ catalyst calcined at 400 °C for 1 h. A stable performance was recorded in single cell for this anode catalyst at 80 °C. The suitable catalytic activity and stability of the most performing catalyst were interpreted in terms of proper combination between nanostructure and suitable morphology.     

Effect of synthesis temperature on the phase structure and electrochemical performance of nickel hydroxide

Nickel hydroxide powder is prepared by chemical precipitation method, and the effect of synthesis temperature on the phase structure and electrochemical performances of nickel hydroxide is investigated. The phase structure is characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and the electrochemical performances are characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and charge/discharge tests. The XRD results show that low temperatures (0–20 °C) induce the precipitation of badly crystallized nickel hydroxide while at high temperatures (40–60 °C) crystallized β-nickel hydroxide is formed. Electrochemical performance tests show that the nickel hydroxide synthesized at low temperature has better electrochemical reversibility, lower electrochemical reaction impedance, and higher discharge capacity than that of the nickel hydroxide synthesized at high temperature.     

Investigation of a Pt–Fe/C catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction in direct ethanol fuel cells

Three cathode catalysts (60% Pt/C, 30% Pt/C and 60% Pt–Fe/C), with a particle size of about 2–3 nm, were prepared to investigate the effect of ethanol cross-over on cathode surfaces. All samples were studied in terms of structure and morphology by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analyses. Their electrocatalytic behavior in terms of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) was investigated and compared using a rotating disk electrode (RDE). The tolerance of cathode catalysts in the presence of ethanol was evaluated. The Pt–Fe/C catalyst showed both higher ORR activity and tolerance to ethanol cross-over than Pt/C catalysts. Moreover, the more promising catalysts were tested in 5 cm² DEFC single cells at 60 and 80 °C. An improvement in single cell performance was observed in the presence of the Pt–Fe catalyst, due to an enhancement in the oxygen reduction kinetics. The maximum power density was 53 mW cm⁻² at 2 bar rel. cathode pressure and 80 °C.     

Electrodeposition of platinum on tourmaline and application as an electrocatalyst for oxidation of methanol

A composite electrode of Pt nanoparticles coupled with tourmaline is prepared on glassy carbon (GC) disk electrode via electrodeposition. The nanocomposite of Pt/tourmaline is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy examinations linked with energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The electrocatalytic performance of the composite electrode (Pt/tourmaline/GC) is investigated in electrocatalysis oxidation of methanol at room temperature by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It is indicated that Pt nanoparticles with size of ∼5 nm are uniformly assembled along the tourmaline particles and Pt exists in metallic and oxidated states confirmed by XPS. The results of electro-oxidation of methanol show that Pt/tourmaline catalyst is catalytically more active and stable than platinum-modified GC electrode, and the onset potential of Pt/tourmaline shifts 0.15 V to the negative side, and also the current density is significantly enhanced.