Electronic Interaction between Pt and Y 2 O 3 in Pt–Y 2 O 3 /C for Enhanced Electrocatalytic Methanol Oxidation

Rare-earth (RE) elements are often employed to optimize electrocatalytic performance due to their tunable electronic structures and surface properties. Herein, a yttrium oxide-doped Pt-based catalyst (Pt–Y 2 O 3 /C) is engineered for the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), and the surface Y/Pt atomic ratio is precisely modulated to optimize its performance. Pt–Y 2 O 3 /C-2 (1/0.17 Pt/Y atomic ratio, Pt loading of 4.73 wt %) exhibits optimal mass activity (MA) for MOR, 5.10 A mg Pt –1 in 1.0 M KOH with 1.0 M CH 3 OH, obviously outperforming commercial 20 wt % Pt/C by a factor of ∼12.8. It also shows superior CO-poisoning tolerance and stability; its MA for the MOR remains at 3.80 A mg Pt –1 after the 10 000 s stability test. Integrated characterization results demonstrate that Y 2 O 3 doping induces an electronic interaction with Pt, thereby reducing the electron density of Pt and optimizing its electronic structure, attenuating the adsorption of CO* intermediates at the Pt sites. Y 2 O 3 doping also decreased the charge transfer resistance ( R ct ) in the MOR. The superior MOR performance of the Pt–Y 2 O 3 /C-2 catalyst originates from its uniformly sized Pt–Y 2 O 3 nanoparticles and unique electronic effect. This work highlights the regulatory role of the rare-earth metal in Pt-based catalysts for the MOR, offering a general strategy for achieving excellent catalytic performance.