Abstract
The surface modification was carried out to fabricate nano-scale Pt-Ru layer on the anode of direct methanol fuel cell using a sputter-deposition technique. The platinum and ruthenium was sputter-deposited on the surface of catalyst layer with different Pt-Ru compositions in 30-nm thicknesses. Electrochemical tests in a single DMFC were conducted at the typical temperature (80°C) under an ambient pressure and show improvements in the cell performances with the surface modification. The best composition and the suitable amounts of Pt-Ru bimetallic layer were investigated by analyzing the polarization curves and impedance measurements of cell. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was carried out to determine the surface chemical composition of the Pt-Ru sputtered layer.
