CeO2/rGO/Pt sandwich nanostructure: rGO-enhanced electron transmission between metal oxide and metal nanoparticles for anodic methanol oxidation of direct methanol fuel cells

Abstract

Pt-based nanocomposites have been of great research interest. In this paper, we design an efficient MO/rGO/Pt sandwich nanostructure as an anodic electrocatalyst for DMFCs with combination of the merits of rigid structure of metallic oxides (MOs) and excellent electronic conductivity of reduced oxidized graphene (rGO) as well as overcoming their shortcomings. In this case, the CeO(2)/rGO/Pt sandwich nanostructure is successfully fabricated through a facile hydrothermal approach in the presence of graphene oxide and CeO(2) nanoparticles. This structure has a unique building architecture where rGO wraps up the CeO(2) nanoparticles and Pt nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed on the surface of rGO. This novel structure endows this material with great electrocatalytic performance in methanol oxidation: it reduces the overpotential of methanol oxidation significantly and its electrocatalytic activity and stability are much enhanced compared with Pt/rGO, CeO(2)/Pt and Pt/C catalysts. This work supplies a unique MO/rGO/Pt sandwich nanostructure as an efficient way to improve the electrocatalytic performance, which will surely shed some light on the exploration of some novel structures of electrocatalyst for DMFCs.

Graphene-based transition metal oxide nanocomposites for the oxygen reduction reaction

“…7 The current-time (I-t ) chronoamperometric response of the cathode has been widely used as an effective method to test the catalytic stability and crossover or poison effects in the ORR. [123][124][125] For example, the catalytic stability of the TiN/NG and Pt/C for ORR was investigated by chronoamperometry at 0.3 V in O 2 -saturated 0.1 M KOH solutions at a rotation rate of 1600 rpm (Fig. 18b).…”

Electroless synthesis of two-dimensional sandwich-like Pt/Mn3O4/reduced-graphene-oxide nanocomposites with enhanced electrochemical performance for methanol oxidation

“…In addition, to mitigate the corrosion of the supports and improve the durability of the electrocatalysts, transition metal oxides such as TiO 2 [7,8], SnO 2 [9], CeO 2 [10,11] and MnO 2 [12] have been widely utilized as the support for noble metal nanoparticles, which is due to their remarkable resistance to acid or alkali, their excellent thermal stability under harsh working conditions, and also their ability to improve CO tolerance in methanol oxidation [11,13]. Among various transition metal oxide supports, Mn 3 O 4 is a potentially interesting electrocatalyst support material by its low cost, environmental compatibility, electrochemical and catalytic properties.…”

Copper nanoparticles stabilized by reduced graphene oxide for CO2 reduction reaction

“…The partial removal of oxygen functional groups leads to an enhancement in the p conjugation so that the semi-metallicity of graphene is partially restored and its conductivity increases by several orders of magnitude compared to as-prepared GO [31,32]. Recently, it has been reported that reduced graphene oxide (rGO) works synergistically with catalyst particles to enhance their stability and performance [33][34][35][36].…”