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Ultralow Pt-loading Au nanoparticles have been fabricated on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by using underpotential deposition (UPD) monolayer redox replacement process. The Pt/Au/RGO modified electrode exhibits an excellent electrocatalytic activity toward catechol and hydroquinone. Under the optimized condition, the separation of peak-to-peak between hydroquinone and catechol is 197 mV, which is wide enough to distinguish the isomers of benzenediol. Catechol is detected by the Pt/Au/RGO/GCE with a low detection limit in the presence of hydroquinone.

Underpotential Deposition Preparation of Pt‐loading AuNPs/Reduced Graphene Oxide and Its Catalytic Detection of Catechol

Wang

Guo

Zhang³

et al. 2016

Preparation of FePd‐RGO Bimetallic Composites with High Catalytic Activity for Formic Acid Electro‐Oxidation

2016

FePd-RGO composites through the growth of uniformly dispersed iron-palladium bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) on reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets were prepared by a two-step method. The firstly formed Fe is used as the seed for the subsequent Pd growth. The formation of Fe NPs on RGO in the first step is performed by an in-situ reduction reaction with the reducer ethylene glycol under oil bath at 180 ℃. NPs in the as-prepared FePd-RGO have an average particle size of 6.5 nm, and Pd is added to one side of Fe which leads to the formation of Fe-Pd bimetallic interfaces. As compared with the commercial Pd black at the same loading, the composites have higher electro-catalytic activity, better electrochemical stability and higher resistance to CO poisoning for formic acid electro-oxidation. Figure 1 (a) TEM image of Fe-RGO; (b) TEM image of FePd-RGO with the corresponding local magnified image, and (c) HRTEM image of (b). Insets (a) and (c) are the corresponding SAED patterns, respectively. Preparation of FePd-RGO Bimetallic Composites with High Catalytic Activity Chin.

Si/C Composites as Negative Electrode for High Energy Lithium Ion Batteries

Zhang

Zhu

et al. 2017

Silicon is very promising negative electrode materials for improving the energy density of lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) because of its high specific capacity, moderate potential, environmental friendliness, and low cost. However, the volume variation of Si negative electrodes is huge during lithiation/delithiation processes which results in pulverization, low cycling efficiency, and permanent capacity loss. In order to overcome this problem, tremendous efforts have been attempted. Among them the most successful strategy is to incorporate other components into silicon to form composite, especially the carbon medium. In this mini review, the recent progress on Si/C materials used as negative electrode of LIBs is summarized such as Si/amorphous carbon composite, Si/graphene composites, Si/carbon nanotubes or fibers composites. The fabrication, structure, electrochemical performances of different Si/C composites are discussed. In addition, some future directions are pointed out.