Morphological and Interfacial Control of Platinum Nanostructures for Electrocatalytic Oxygen Reduction

Abstract

The catalytic performance of noble metal nanocrystals highly depends on their surface structure and interface structure. Effective surface/interface control over noble metal nanocrystals can significantly improve their electrocatalytic activity, durability, and selectivity for the various important electrochemical reactions in low-temperature polymer electrolyte fuel cells. In this work, the polyallylamine (PAA)-functionalized Pt nanostructures with long-spined sea-urchin-like morphology (Pt-LSSUs@PAA) have been synthesized successfully through a simple chemical reduction route. The high branching degree of Pt-LSSUs@PAA nanostructures and the sheet morphology of the branches effectively improve the utilization of the Pt metal. The particular 3D interconnected architecture of Pt-LSSUs@PAA nanostructures significantly enhances the electrochemical stability. Loose-packed PAA layers on the surface of Pt-LSSUs@PAA nanostructures efficiently modify the electronic property of Pt atoms and serve as barrier networks to restrain the accessibility of alcohol molecules. As a result, the as-prepared Pt-LSSUs@PAA nanostructures show high activity, excellent durability, and particular alcohol tolerance for the oxygen reduction reaction in acidic media.

Current status, opportunities, and challenges in fuel cell catalytic application of aerogels

“…113,114 For example in Xue et al study, 106 methanol moving to the cathode will adversely affect ORR and fuel cell performance because of unwanted methanol oxidation at Pt cathode. 115,116 Figure 14 shows rapid poisoning in current for Pt/C than weak CO poisoning effect for N-GA-150 electrocatalyst, respectively. Figure 15 also shows high stability and reproducibility for NC-CNT-15 nanocomposite with only 17% loss after 1000 continuous potential cycles.…”

“…Another important test of catalyst including the selectivity (eg, CO tolerance and methanol tolerance) and durability also needs to be considered to measure their performance . For example in Xue et al study, methanol moving to the cathode will adversely affect ORR and fuel cell performance because of unwanted methanol oxidation at Pt cathode . Figure shows rapid poisoning in current for Pt/C than weak CO poisoning effect for N‐GA‐150 electrocatalyst, respectively.…”

Enhanced Dual Fuel Cell Electrocatalysis with Trimetallic PtPdCo Mesoporous Nanoparticles

“…To increase the utilization efficiency of preciousp latinum,t remendous research effort has been focused on precisely controlling the sizes, structures, and compositions of platinum and platinum-based catalysts. [4][5][6][7][8][9] In addition, because of the difference in the reaction nature between the FAOR and ORR, most developed catalysts are applied to as pecific reaction. Therefore, it is of particular significance to develop bifunctional catalysts that can efficiently catalyzeb oth the FAOR and ORR.…”

A Mesoporous Nanorattle‐Structured Pd@PtRu Electrocatalyst

“…[6][7][8] Typically,s tructure controlling has been provedt ob et he most effective way to enhance the electrocatalytic ability of the catalysts. [9][10][11] Porous structures are advantageous in the electrocatalytic process due to the relative larger specific surface area. [12][13][14][15] However,t raditional porousn anomaterials are powerless in the utilization of their inner part, which always lead to compromised electrocatalytic performance.…”