Advanced Vulcan XC-72@PtNPs and graphite@PtNPs nanocomposite electrocatalyst towards electrooxidation of methanol: A comparison study

The synthesis of highly homogenous dispersed platinum nanoparticles decorated Vulcan XC-72 (Vulcan XC-72@PtNPs) was conducted by a facile, clean and rapid chemical reduction reaction using sodium borohydride as the chemical reductant. The comparison study has been carried out between the as-synthesized Vulcan XC-72@PtNPs and graphite@PtNPs nanocomposite electrocatalysts in term of structural, surface morphology and electrocatalytic performance of methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). The highly homogenous distribution of PtNPs on the entire surface of Vulcan XC-72 was observed compared to the graphite surface from the field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) analysis. Meanwhile, the Vulcan XC-72@PtNPs electrocatalyst also has better electrocatalytic performance than graphite@PtNPs electrocatalyst towards MOR.