The Investigation of Electro-Oxidation of Methanol on Pt-Ru Electrode Surfaces by in-situ Raman Spectroscopy

The Investigation of Electro-Oxidation of Methanol on Pt-Ru Electrode Surfaces by in-situ Raman Spectroscopy

Assisted by the highly sensitive confocal microprobe Raman spectrometer and proper surface roughening procedure, the Raman investigation on the adsorption and reaction of methanol was performed on Pt-Ru electrodes with different coverages. A detailed description of the roughening process of the Pt electrodes and the underpotential deposition of the Ru was given. Reasonably good Raman signal reflecting the metal-carbon vibration and CO vibration was detected. The appearance of vibrations of the Ru oxides, together with the existence of Ru-C, Pt-C and CO bands, clearly demonstrates the participation of the bi-functional mechanism during the oxidation process of methanol on Pt-Ru electrodes. The Pt-Ru electrode was found to have a higher catalytic activity over Pt electrodes. This preliminary study shows that electrochemical Raman spectroscopy can be applied to the study of rough electrode surface.