Abstract Owing to the characteristics of high energy density, low operating temperature, and environmentally-friendly features, direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are a promising renewable energy source. However, the electrocatalysts of the anode are vulnerable in terms of their electrochemical performance, as they can be easily toxified by CO and other hydrocarbons, which might lead to a break-up of the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). For further advances in the DMFC industry with improved electrochemical performance, this issue should be urgently resolved. Thus, this study proposes a novel approach to synthesize protein-based carbon as platinum electrocatalyst supports (PCPs) from tofu using a carbonization for the improved methanol oxidation activities. Among commercial Pt/C and other samples, the composite loaded 10 wt% Pt electrocatalyst showed the highest anodic current density of 510 mA mgPt−1, the excellent electrocatalytic stability, and the highest retention of 86%. The improved electrochemical performances can be attributed to the good dispersion of Pt electrocatalysts and N-doping effect of protein-based carbon supports. These results suggest that PCPs derived from tofu will be one of promising candidates as platinum catalyst supports to improve methanol oxidation activities.

中文翻译：

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基于蛋白质的碳和铂纳米复合材料作为甲醇氧化活性的电催化剂

摘要 直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFCs）具有能量密度高、工作温度低、环境友好等特点，是一种很有前景的可再生能源。然而，阳极的电催化剂在电化学性能方面很脆弱，因为它们很容易被 CO 和其他碳氢化合物毒化，这可能导致甲醇氧化反应 (MOR) 中断。为了进一步提高 DMFC 行业的电化学性能，这个问题应该得到紧急解决。因此，本研究提出了一种新方法，通过碳化来提高甲醇氧化活性，从豆腐合成蛋白质基碳作为铂电催化剂载体（PCP）。在商业 Pt/C 和其他样品中，负载 10 wt% Pt 电催化剂的复合材料显示出最高的阳极电流密度 510 mA mgPt-1、优异的电催化稳定性和最高的 86% 保留率。电化学性能的提高可归因于 Pt 电催化剂的良好分散性和蛋白质基碳载体的 N 掺杂效应。这些结果表明，来自豆腐的五氯苯酚将作为铂催化剂载体，以提高甲醇氧化活性，是有前景的候选者之一。