Nitrogen doped carbon coated Mo modified TiO2 nanowires (NC@MTNWs-FI) with functionalized interfacial as advanced PtRu catalyst support for methanol electrooxidation

A strategy combining hydrothermal in-situ pre-carbonization coating and interfacial functionalization is proposed to prepare the nitrogen doped carbon coated Mo modified one-dimensional TiO2 nanowires (NC@MTNWs-FI) with functionalized interfacial core-shell structure as advanced carriers for PtRu nanoparticles towards methanol electrooxidation. Mo functional doping and chitosan pre-carbonization occur simultaneously on the surface of TiO2 nanowires (TNWs), resulting in a special concentric multilayer one-dimensional (1D) structure with TiO2 core, Mo functionalized interface and an outer N-doped carbon layer. The mass activity of the prepared PtRu/NC@MTNWs-FI catalyst is increased to 1.23 A mg−1 Pt for methanol electrooxidation, which is 2 times higher than that of the unmodified supported catalyst (PtRu/NC@TNWs) and the stability is increased by 15.9%. In addition, it is 2.24 times higher than that of the PtRu/C catalyst and the stability is increased by 23.2%. This excellent catalytic performance is attributed to the synergistic electron donating effect of the Mo functionalized interface and the nitrogen doped carbon layer on the supported PtRu as well as the stronger anchoring effect. This work reveals a new method for designing highly active and stable electrocatalytic support materials for the development of fuel cells. [Display omitted] •The N-doped carbon coated Mo modified TiO2 was prepared by hydrothermal method.•The multilayer structure with TiO2 core, Mo functionalized interface and N-doped carbon shell.•The electrocatalytic performance of PtRu/NC@MTNWs-FI is much better than PtRu/C.•Excellent properties are resulted from the synergistic electron donating effect.