Boron as a superior activator for Pt anode catalyst in direct alcohol fuel cell

Here, we develop an ingenious strategy to significantly improve the electrocatalytic property of Pt or Pt-based catalyst towards methanol and ethanol oxidation reactions (MOR and EOR) in acid medium by doping B. B doping into the support of Pt catalysts not only improves the distribution and utilization efficiency of Pt but also facilitates the removal of CO from the Pt surface. Pt-based catalysts (Pt-BTOx/BC) using B doped carbon black (BC) and B doped TiO2 (BTOx) as support and co-catalyst, respectively, all exhibit superior electrochemical activity, better CO tolerance and durability compare to the commercial PtRu/C from Johnson Matthey (PtRu/C-JM) in MOR and EOR. In particular, the MOR and EOR mass activities of the Pt-BTO4/BC with 4% B doping content in TiO2 are 2720 and 1530 mA mg(pt)(-1), which are 6.7 and 3.6 times as high as those of the PtRu/C-JM, respectively. B doping can significantly improves the electrocatalytic property of Pt or Pt-TiO2 catalysts for small molecule alcohol electrooxidation, which is attributed to a combination of effects, including the strong adsorption ability of B to oxygen species, the increase in the oxygen vacancy concentration of TiO2 and the downward shift of the d-band center of Pt.