Carbon‐Coated and Interfacial‐Functionalized Mixed‐Phase Mo x Ti 1− x O 2‐δ Nanotubes as Highly Active and Durable PtRu Catalyst Support for Methanol Electrooxidation

A synchronous carbon-coating and interfacial-functionalizing approach is proposed for the fabrication of Mo-doped Mox Ti1-x O2-δ nanotubes (C@IF-MTNTs) under mild hydrothermal reaction with subsequent annealing as advanced catalyst supports for PtRu nanoparticles (NPs) towards methanol electrooxidation. The carbonation of glucose and Mo-doping takes place simultaneously at the interface of pristine anatase TiO2 nanotubes (TNTs), generating a unique concentric multilayered one-dimensional (1D) structure with crystalline an anatase/rutile mixed-phase TiO2 core and Mo-functionalized interface and subsequently a carbon shell. The obtained PtRu/C@IF-MTNTs catalyst exhibits an over 2 times higher mass activity with comparable durability than that of the unmodified PtRu/C@TNTs catalyst and over 1.7 times higher mass activity with over 20 % higher stability than that of PtRu/C catalyst. Such superior catalytic performance towards methanol electrooxidation is ascribed to the Mo-functionalized interface, concentric multilayered 1D architecture, and anatase/rutile mixed-phase core, which facilitates the charge transport through 1D structural support and electronic interaction between C@IF-MTNTs and ultrafine PtRu NPs. This work reveals the critical application of a 1D interfacial functionalized architecture for advanced energy storage and conversion.