Pt nanoparticles supported on one-dimensional (1D) titanium silicon nitride with high performance and stability for methanol electrooxidation

A titanium silicon nitride nanotubes (Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs) support with a one-dimensional (1D) nanostructure is controllable prepared in a controlled manner by adjusting the molar ratio of the precursors, and the Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs support is further decorated with Pt nanoparticles to form an electrocatalyst for methanol electrooxidation. Transmission electron microscopy shows that the Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs are formed with nanocrystals, and the hollow structure is composed of mesoporous walls. The N 2 adsorption–desorption results reveal that the novel 1D nanotube structure exhibits a large Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area, and the XPS patterns demonstrate the strong interaction between the Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs support and the Pt nanoparticles. Furthermore, the electrochemical measurements show that the Pt/Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs exhibit an enhanced performance and stability compared to the conventional Pt/C catalysts. The dramatically improved durability of the catalyst is confirmed by the accelerated durability test. The combination of facile preparation and remarkable electrochemical performance demonstrates that Ti 0.95 Si 0.05 N NTs are promising candidates as supports for direct methanol fuel cells.