Platinum (Pt)-based nanoparticle metals have received a substantial amount of attention and are the most popular catalysts for direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC). However, the high cost of Pt catalysts, slow kinetic oxidation, and the formation of CO intermediate molecules during the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) are major challenges associate with single-metal Pt catalysts. Recent studies are focusing on using either Pt alloys, such as Fe, Ni, Co, Rh, Ru, Co, and Sn metals, or carbon support materials to enhance the catalytic performance of Pt. In recent years, Pt and Pt alloy catalysts supported on great potential of carbon materials such as MWCNT, CNF, CNT, CNC, CMS, CNT, CB, and graphene have received remarkable interests due to their significant properties that can contribute to the excellent MOR and DMFC performance. This review paper summaries the development of the above alloys and support materials related to reduce the usage of Pt, improve stability, and better electrocatalytic performance of Pt in DMFC. Finally, discussion of each catalyst and support in terms of morphology, electrocatalytic activity, structural characteristics, and its fuel cell performance are presented.

Tissue engineering (TE) is an emerging field of study that incorporates the principles of biology, medicine, and engineering for designing biological substitutes to maintain, restore, or improve tissue functions with the goal of avoiding organ transplantation. Amongst the various scaffolding techniques, electrospinning is one of the most widely used techniques to synthesise a nanofibrous scaffold. Electrospinning as a potential tissue engineering scaffolding technique has attracted a great deal of interest and has been widely discussed in many studies. The high surface-to-volume ratio of nanofibres, coupled with their ability to fabricate scaffolds that may mimic extracellular matrices, facilitates cell migration, proliferation, adhesion, and differentiation. These are all very desirable properties for TE applications. However, despite its widespread use and distinct advantages, electrospun scaffolds suffer from two major practical limitations: poor cell penetration and poor load-bearing applications. Furthermore, electrospun scaffolds have low mechanical strength. Several solutions have been offered by various research groups to overcome these limitations. This review provides an overview of the electrospinning techniques used to synthesise nanofibres for TE applications. In addition, we describe current research on nanofibre fabrication and characterisation, including the main limitations of electrospinning and some possible solutions to overcome these limitations.