低温等离子体具有高电子温度、低气体温度及高能等特性，在材料制备和改性中有广泛的应用前景。但其材料制备和改性过程极其复杂，存在着等离子体放电参数对材料结构和性能影响不清晰、材料制备和改性机理不明确等问题。本项目拟将等离子体技术应用于直接甲醇燃料电池阳极催化剂的制备和改性上，即采用等离子体技术合成金属氮掺杂中空石墨烯球支撑的Ni@PtNix合金型核壳结构纳米催化剂(Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS)。将着重研究等离子体放电参数对催化剂结构和性能的影响规律以及催化剂制备和改性的机理，并获得高性能Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS电催化剂。此外，将利用在线表征技术和第一性原理计算系统研究甲醇在Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS上的催化氧化机理，为其性能优化提供理论基础，最终获得高性能直接甲醇燃料电池。本项目的研究不但有利于拓宽等离子体技术的应用范围，而且有助于促进直接甲醇燃料电池的发展。

Low temperature plasma technology has been widely used in material preparation and modification because of its high electron temperature, low gas temperature and high energy. However, the process of the material preparation and modification by the plasma technique is rather complicated. There exist problems of unclarity in the influences of the plasma discharge parameters on the properties of materials and unclearness in the material preparation and modification mechanism. In this proposal, the plasma technology will be utilized for the preparation and modification of anodic catalysts of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC). Specifically, the metal nitrogen doped hollow graphene spheres supported Ni@PtNix alloys with a core-shell structure (Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS) will be synthesized by the plasma techniques. The effects of plasma discharge parameters on the structure and properties of the catalysts and the plasma preparation and modification mechanisms of the Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS will be intensively studied. The Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS with high catalytic performance for methanol oxidation will be obtained. Additionally, the catalytic oxidation mechanism of methanol over Ni@PtNix/Me-NxHGS will be systematically studied using advanced in-operando characterization techniques and first-principle theory calculation. The high performance DMFCs will be finally assembled. The work proposed here is therefore of great significance. It cannot only broaden the application domain of the plasma technique, but also helps the development of DMFCs.