Versatile nanoarchitectonics of Pt with morphology control of oxygen reduction reaction catalysts

Abstract

Electro-catalytic activity of Pt in the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) depends strongly on its morphology. For an understanding of how morphology affects the catalytic properties of Pt, the investigation of Pt materials having well-defined morphologies is required. However, the challenges remain in rational and facile synthesis of Pt particles with tuneable well-defined morphology. A promising approach for the controlled synthesis of Pt particles is ‘self-assembly of building blocks’. Here, we report a unique synthesis method to control Pt morphology by using a self-assembly route, where nanoflower, nanowire, nanosheet and nanotube morphologies of Pt particles have been produced in a controlled manner. In the growth mechanism, Pt nanoparticles (5–11 nm) are rapidly prepared by using NaBH 4 as a reductant, followed by their agglomeration promoted by adding 1,2-ethylenediamine. The morphology of the resulting Pt particles can be easily controlled by tuning hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions by the addition of isopropanol and H 2 O. Of the Pt particles prepared using this method, Pt nanotubes show the highest ORR catalytic activity in an acid electrolyte with an onset potential of 1.02 V vs. RHE.

A novel approach to pulsed laser deposition of platinum catalyst on carbon particles for use in polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells

“…However, it requires harmonizing various techniques and phenomena [12][13][14]. Recently, nanoarchitectonics approaches have been used to fabricate various materials for energy-related applications, including carbon-based composites [15,16], Pt-based nanostructures and composites with carbon materials [17][18][19], and metal alloys deposited on TiO 2 [20].…”

“…The most commonly used catalyst in PEMFCs is platinum on various carbon support materials, which is used in both the anode and cathode because of its high catalytic activity toward the hydrogen oxidation reaction (HOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) [6,[17][18][19][21][22][23][24][25]. Pt is also characterized by its durability in acidic environments under high potential [23].…”

A review on functional nanoarchitectonics nanocomposites based on octahedral metal atom clusters (Nb 6 , Mo 6 , Ta 6 , W 6 , Re 6 ): inorganic 0D and 2D powders and films

“…[5] In this review, this term will refer only to functional composite nanoarchitectures which represent a class of nanostructured entities that integrate dissimilar nanoscale inorganic octahedral metal cluster units in the frame of the nanoarchitectonics concept. [6][7][8][9][10][11] As one of the nanocomponents of the nanocomposites, the nanometer-sized metal atom clusters (MC) also called ''nanoclusters or superatoms'' (size < 2 nm), [12] which consist of less than a few dozens of metal atoms, were used to synthesize functional nanocomposites during the last decades. Indeed, metal nanoclusters are promising candidates for novel materials due to their size-specific properties arising from unique atomic packing and electronic structures.…”

Molecular Machines and Microrobots: Nanoarchitectonics Developments and On-Water Performances

“…It can be likened to the Theory of Everything in the world of physics [ 63 ], and can be called the Method for Everything in materials science [ 64 ]. In fact, the concept of nanoarchitectonics is used in fundamental areas such as fabrication and control of materials [ 65 , 66 , 67 ], micro/nano-structure organization [ 68 , 69 , 70 ], understanding of physical phenomena [ 71 , 72 , 73 ], and pursuit of basic biological and biochemical functions [ 74 , 75 , 76 ], as well as application-oriented fields such as catalysis [ 77 , 78 , 79 ], sensors [ 80 , 81 , 82 ], devices [ 83 , 84 , 85 ], energy-related applications [ 86 , 87 , 88 ], environment-related applications [ 89 , 90 , 91 ], and biomedical applications [ 92 , 93 , 94 ].…”