Pt-Ru Fuel Cell Electrocatalysts

Reviewing the work on tire Pt-Ru electrocatalysts is beyond the scope of this article. We will briefly comment on some key advances in this area. Although early discovery by Petrii, and Bockris and Wrob Io wa established the catalytic activity of Pt-Ru alloys for methanol oxidation, despite of active investigation that followed, even the optimum composition of Pt-Ru is yet to be firmly settled. An early explanation for the mechanism by which bimetallic catalysts improve upon the performance of pure Pt, that is, the bifunctional mechanism proposed by Watanabe and Motoo, was recently challenged. 

The bifunctional mechanism is explained in terms of the independent function of atoms of different metals methanol adsorption and decomposition takes place on Pt, while the alternative metal atoms provide preferred sites to bind OH. Several metals, such as 

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