Electro‐oxidation of Methanol in Sulfuric Acid Electrolyte on Platinized‐Carbon Electrodes with Several Functional‐Group Characteristics

The effect of acid/base functional‐groups associated with platinized‐carbon electrodes on their catalytic activity toward electro‐oxidation of methanol in sulfuric acid electrolyte at 60°C is studied. Platinized‐carbon electrodes with small amounts of functional groups exhibit higher catalytic activity compared to those with large concentrations of acidic/basic surface functionalities. The overpotential for methanol oxidation is minimum on electrodes of platinized carbons with pHzpc values between 6 and 7. An x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopic study of various platinized carbons suggests that the acid/base surface functional‐groups produce ample amounts of surface Pt‐oxides and a consequent decrease in activity toward methanol oxidation.