Contrary to the current understanding of Pt−Ru electrocatalyzed oxidation of methanol, the bimetallic alloy is not the most desired form of the catalyst. In the nanoscale Pt−Ru blacks used to electrooxidize methanol in direct methanol fuel cells, Pt0Ru0 has orders of magnitude less activity for methanol oxidation than does a mixed-phase electrocatalyst containing Pt metal and hydrous ruthenium oxides (RuOxHy). Bulk, rather than near-surface, quantities of electron−proton conducting RuOxHy are required to achieve high activity for methanol oxidation. The active catalyst forms a nanoscopic, phase-separated hydrons oxide-on-metal structure that retains the Pt metal−RuOxHy boundaries required to oxidize methanol fully to carbon dioxide and water.
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Long et al. (2000) studied this question.
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