Highly Stable and Methanol Tolerant RuTe2/C Electrocatalysts in Alkaline Media

The carbon supported ruthenium tellurium (RuTe 2 /C) nanoparticles were synthesized through a simple microwave polyol method and heat treatment at 350℃. Effects of Ru/Te molar ratio on the crystal structure, surface morphology, microstructure, electrocatalytic activity and stability, as well as methanol tolerance in both acidic and alkaline solutions were systematically investigated. The orthorhombic RuTe 2 and hexagonal Ru were formed. The catalyst nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on carbon support and the average particle size ranged 5.0~8.6 nm. The best activities toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were achieved with the RuTe 2 /C catalyst prepared at Ru/Te=1:1 in both acidic and alkaline media. The onset ( E onset ) and half-wave potentials ( E 1/2 ) were 0.88 and 0.60 V in 0.1 mol/L HClO 4 , respectively, while 0.98 and 0.72 V in 0.1 mol/L KOH, respectively. The E 1/2 values decreased by 5 mV after 1000 cycles in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes, while 20 mV and 7 mV in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes containing 2 mol/L methanol, respectively, suggesting the excellent stability and methanol tolerance.