Novel method for the synthesis of hydrophobic Pt-Ru nanoparticles and its application to preparing a Nafion-free anode for the direct methanol fuel cell

Pt-Ru alloy is a bimetallic catalyst most commonly used in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). In this paper, a new process to synthesize an unsupported Pt-Ru colloid has been introduced. The characteristics of synthesized nanoparticles were identified by XRD, TEM/EDX, and SEM, and it shows that Ru atoms are incorporated into the Pt fcc structure and the well-dispersed particles (diameter approximately 4 nm) possess a Pt-rich feature. This catalyst shows a hydrophobic characteristic which can adsorb very well on the hydrophobic-treated carbon paper or carbon cloth without the need of Nafion. Accordingly, this method can avoid particle agglomeration, and the synthesized catalyst demonstrates strong adsorption with carbon paper. In addition, this colloid-type Nafion-free catalyst was measured via linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and exhibited electrochemical activity for methanol oxidation comparable to the commercial one with Nafion binding.