Pt-Au composite catalysts are prepared on an indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate by cyclic voltammetry. Catalyst samples are characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and electrochemical methods. SEM results reveal that the samples are composed of near-spherical microparticles. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry results show that the addition of Au into composite catalysts is beneficial to the electro-catalytic oxidation of methanol and the anti-poisoning ability of platinum for methanol oxidation is enhanced. At the same time, the different content of Au in composite catalysts has been studied for methanol electro-oxidation, the results show that Pt-Au/ITO catalyst has the best catalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation when the molar ratio of Pt to Au is 1.07∶1.

Key words: methanol oxidation, composite catalyst, electrodeposition, electrocatalysis