Systhesis and Catalytic Methanol Oxidation Performance of Pt/TiC/TiO₂ Catalyst with Nano-Composite Structure

Optimal parameters of TiO₂ nanowires prepared by hydrothermal method were determined. TiO₂ nanowires prepared with the optimal parameters were treated by carbonization and surface deposited with platinum, and then the Pt/TiC/TiO₂ catalyst was obtained. The phase composition, chemical composition and micromorphology of the products in different stages were investigated, and the catalytic methonal oxidation capability of Pt/TiC/TiO₂ catalyst was tested. The results show that the optimal hydrothermal parameters were listed as follows:NaOH solution concentration of 1 mol·L^-1, hydrothermal temperature of 160℃, and hydrothermal time of 20 h. Consequently, TiO₂ nanowires with diameter of about 100 nm and length of over 1 μm were obtained. The TiC/TiO₂ nanowires were obtained after carbonization and the surface was coated with platinum nanoparticles after the deposition of platinum. The initial oxidation potential of methanol oxidation catalyzed by Pt/TiC/TiO₂ catalyst was 0.34 V (vs Ag/AgCl), about 0.15 V negative shift compared with that by Pt/TiO₂ catalyst, and the maximum forward current density was more than 8 times as large as that by Pt/TiO₂ catalyst. The carbonization improved the catalytic methanol oxidation capability of Pt/TiO₂ catalyst significantly.