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In this study, an effective preparation of Pt-WO3-TiO2/C electrocatalysts has been developed for polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) application. The single cell performance of Vulcan XC-72R carbon-supported Pt-WO3-TiO2 electrocatalysts with various compositions (as weight percentage Pt-W-Ti 0:5:5, 2:4:4, 4:3:3, 6:2:2, and 8:1:1) as anode materials are investigated in PEMFC. These catalysts are compared with 10 % Pt/C on the same Vulcan XC-72R carbon support and 10 % Pt/C (commercial) electrocatalyst. The physical and morphological characterization of the optimized Pt-WO3-TiO2/C, 10 % Pt/C, and 10 % Pt/C (commercial) electrocatalysts are further investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Among all the molar ratio of the catalysts, the Pt-W-Ti (4:3:3) molar ratio catalyst exhibited the larger electrochemical active surface area. The electrochemical performance of Pt-WO3-TiO2/C (with a weight percentage of Pt-W-Ti 4:3:3) as anode material is better than those of other compositions of Pt-WO3-TiO2/C catalysts. The amount of platinum was also reduced from 1.76 to 0.704 mg cm−2 which exhibited higher performance in single cell tests. Platinum shows a smaller-sized crystalline structure in XRD and TEM analysis. High performance indicates that enhanced proton transport occurs through the use of this catalyst.

Nano-structured Pt–WO 3 /C, Pt–WO 3 –TiO 2 /C and Pt/C catalysts are synthesized by chemical reduction method using sodium borohydride as reducing agent. The catalysts thus prepared are characterized and compared with commercial Pt/C catalyst. The electrochemical performances are characterized by single cell test evaluation, long term stability test and cyclic voltammetry measurement. The chemical compositions, physical and morphological characterizations are investigated by various techniques such X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). XRD analysis shows that, all prepared catalysts exhibited face-centered cubic structures. XRD results confirm that, the Pt–WO 3 /C and Pt–WO 3 –TiO 2 /C catalysts are smaller in particle size and larger in surface area calculated from line broadening. The amount of Pt reduced from1.76 mg cm −2 (10% Pt/C) to 1.056 mg cm −2 and 0.704 mg cm −2 in the case of Pt–WO 3 /C and Pt–WO 3 –TiO 2 /C respectively. Both the tungstate and titanate based electrocatalysts have exhibited higher performance in single cell tests than lone Pt catalysts.