Electronic Effect in Methanol Dehydrogenation on Pt Surfaces: Potential Control during Methanol Electrooxidation

Establishing a relationship between the catalytic activity and electronic structure of a transition-metal surface is important in the prediction and design of a new catalyst in fuel cell technology. Herein, we introduce a novel approach for identifying the methanol oxidation reactions, especially focusing on the effect of the Pt electronic structure on methanol dehydrogenation. By systematically controlling the electrode potential, we simplified the reaction paths, excluding other unfavorable effects, and thereby obtained only the methanol dehydrogenation activity in terms of the electronic structure of the Pt surface. We observed that the methanol dehydrogenation activity of Pt decreases when the position of the d-band center relative to the Fermi level is lower, and this fundamental relation provides advanced insight into the design of an optimal catalyst as the anode for direct methanol fuel cells.