The higher methanol utilization efficiency in direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is one of the key factors that determine the performance of DMFC. Herein, we have synthesized bimetallic PtCo nano-particles (with optimized Pt:Co ratio) decorated reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nano-composite as anode catalyst. The electrochemical response of optimized PtCo (1:9)/rGO catalyst revealed efficient oxidation of 5 M methanol in half-cell configuration with ~ 60% Faradaic efficiency. A current density of 463.5 mA/cm² and a power density of 136.8 mW/cm² were achieved using PtCo (1:9)/rGO anode catalyst in a complete DMFC set-up at 100 °C with 5 M methanol supply which is ~ three times greater as compared to commercial Pt/C (48.03 mW/cm²). The low activation energy of 9.88 kJ/mol indicates the faster methanol oxidation reduction (MOR) kinetics of PtCo (1:9)/rGO anode catalyst. Furthermore, the higher methanol utilization and open-circuit voltage in complete DMFC using PtCo (1:9)/rGO as compared to commercial Pt/C indicate the reduced methanol crossover. The excellent catalytic behavior of PtCo (1:9)/rGO towards MOR and high methanol utilization warrant its potential application as anode catalyst in DMFC.

中文翻译：

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PtCo / rGO纳米阳极催化剂：直接甲醇燃料电池中提高的功率密度和减少的甲醇穿越

直接甲醇燃料电池（DMFC）中较高的甲醇利用率是决定DMFC性能的关键因素之一。在这里，我们已经合成了双金属的PtCo纳米颗粒（具有优化的Pt：Co比）修饰的还原石墨烯氧化物（rGO）纳米复合材料作为阳极催化剂。优化的PtCo（1：9）/ rGO催化剂的电化学响应表明，半电池配置中的5 M甲醇可有效氧化，法拉第效率约为60％。使用PtCo（1：9）/ rGO阳极催化剂在100°C的完全DMFC装置中使用5 M甲醇供应，可实现463.5 mA / cm ^2的电流密度和136.8 mW / cm ²的功率密度。〜比市售Pt / C（48.03 mW / cm ²）。9.88 kJ / mol的低活化能表明PtCo（1：9）/ rGO阳极催化剂的甲醇氧化还原（MOR）动力学更快。此外，与商用Pt / C相比，在使用PtCo（1：9）/ rGO的完全DMFC中，较高的甲醇利用率和开路电压表明降低了甲醇穿越。PtCo（1：9）/ rGO对MOR的出色催化行为和高甲醇利用率保证了其在DMFC中作为阳极催化剂的潜在应用。