Platinum-nickel bimetallic nanowire electrocatalyst enables methanol oxidation

The direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) stand out among various types of fuel cells due to their advantages of pollution-free operation, rational design, and high energy density. However, the development of methanol fuel cells faces several obstacles. Platinum-based catalysts are considered the most promising type of catalyst for electrochemical methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), yet they are limited by issues inherent to commercial platinum–carbon (Pt/C) catalysts, including high platinum content, low activity, rapid deactivation, and susceptibility to poisoning, all of which restrict their practical applications in methanol oxidation cells. Based on the platinum-based metal system, this study explores a platinum-nickel (PtNi) bimetallic nanomaterial with a nanowire microstructure as an alternative catalyst for MOR. The PtNi nanowires possess more active sites and exhibit synergistic effects, thereby enhancing catalytic performance.