In Situ Pt Migration Enabled Resurrection of Electrocatalyst and Fuel Cell Device.

ABSTRACT

In direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), the poisoning of noble metals is considered to be a major impediment to their commercial development. Here, it is found that the loss of surface Pt is one main reason for the attenuation of catalyst performance during long-time methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). A strategy to realize in situ resurrection of the deactivated catalyst by migrating Pt atoms inside to the surface is innovatively proposed. A high-activity Pt-SnO2 is designed, whose MOR activity is resurrected to 97.4% of the initial value. Based on this, the multiple resurrection of a DMFC device is also achieved for the first time. This work provides a new approach for the solution of catalyst deactivation and the development of sustainable catalysts as well as fuel cells.