Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 12, 2026

Original Experimental Approach for Assessing Transport Fuel Stability
Published on: October 21, 2016
SiO2 decoration dramatically enhanced the stability of PtRu electrocatalysts with undetectable deterioration in fuel
Xinxin Yu1, Zejun Xu2, Zehui Yang1
1Sustainable Energy Laboratory, Faculty of Materials Science and Chemistry, China University of Geosciences Wuhan, People's Republic of China.
Abstract:
Prevention of Ru dissolution is essential for steady CO tolerance of anodic electrocatalysts in direct methanol fuel cells. Here, we demonstrate a facile way to stabilize Ru atoms by decorating commercial CB/PtRu with SiO2, which shows a six-fold higher stability and similar activity toward a methanol oxidation reaction leading to no discernible degradation in fuel cell performance compared to commercial CB/PtRu electrocatalysts. The higher stability and stable CO tolerance of SiO2-decorated electrocatalysts originate from the SiO2 coating, since Ru atoms are partially ionized during SiO2 decorating, resulting in difficulties in dissolution; while, in the case of commercial CB/PtRu, the dissolved Ru offers active sites for Pt coalescences and CO species resulting in the rapid decay of the electrochemical surface area and fuel cell performance. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study about the stabilization of Ru atoms by SiO2. The highest stability is obtained for a PtRu electrocatalyst with negligible effect on the electrochemical properties.
Related Concept Videos
Batteries and Fuel Cells
Bioavailability Enhancement: Drug Stability Enhancement and GI Retention
Mortar Joint Deterioration in Masonry
The...
RNA Stability
Nuclear Stability
To hold positively charged protons together...
Stability
The stability of an LTI system is determined by the roots of its characteristic equation, known as poles. A system is stable if it produces a bounded...

