LAUSR

Abstract Titanium dioxide is emerging as new class of catalyst support for fuel cell reactions. Via pulsed laser deposition, we prepare hierarchically organized and vertically aligned TiO 2 /Pt nanostructured films on microfibrous carbon paper (CP) substrate at room temperature. Microstructural analyses reveal a metal-support interaction between TiO 2 and Pt. Namely; (i) the particles size of Pt on TiO 2 is smaller than those of Pt grown onto carbon paper substrate under similar condition of synthesis and (ii) Pt metallic state is transformed to ionized Pt 2+ and Pt 4+ . Compared to CP/Pt electrocatalyst, the CP/TiO 2 /Pt electrocatalysts (i) oxidize ethanol at much lower potentials, (ii) display superior current peak densities of more than 2.5 times higher by voltammetry, and (iii) steady state current density during long-term stability up to 8 times greater. For portable electronic applications, the binder-free and hierarchical structures of the CP/TiO 2 /Pt electrocatalyst with its planar deposition make it very attractive as anode for direct ethanol fuel cells.