Ternary Pt/Rh/SnO2 electrocatalysts for oxidizing ethanol to CO2

Ternary electrocatalysts for oxidizing ethanol to carbon dioxide: making ir capable of splitting C-C bond

Splitting the C-C bond is the main obstacle to electrooxidation of ethanol (EOR) to CO(2). We recently demonstrated that the ternary PtRhSnO(2) electrocatalyst can accomplish that reaction at room temperature with Rh having a unique capability to split the C-C bond. In this article, we report the finding that Ir can be induced to split the C-C bond as a component of the ternary catalyst. We characterized and compared the properties of several carbon-supported nanoparticle (NP) electrocatalysts comprising a SnO(2) NP core decorated with multimetallic nanoislands (MM' = PtIr, PtRh, IrRh, PtIrRh) prepared using a seeded growth approach. An array of characterization techniques were employed to establish the composition and architecture of the synthesized MM'/SnO(2) NPs, while electrochemical and in situ infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy studies elucidated trends in activity and the nature of the reaction intermediates and products. Both EOR reactivity and selectivity toward CO(2) formation of several of these MM'/SnO(2)/C electrocatalysts are significantly higher compared to conventional Pt/C and Pt/SnO(2)/C catalysts. We demonstrate that the PtIr/SnO(2)/C catalyst with high Ir content shows outstanding catalytic properties with the most negative EOR onset potential and reasonably good selectivity toward ethanol complete oxidation to CO(2).

Platinum Monolayer Electrocatalysts for Anodic Oxidation of Alcohols

The slow, incomplete oxidation of methanol and ethanol on platinum-based anodes as well as the high price and limited reserves of Pt has hampered the practical application of direct alcohol fuel cells. We describe the electrocatalysts consisting of one Pt monolayer (one atom thick layer) placed on extended or nanoparticle surfaces having the activity and selectivity for the oxidation of alcohol molecules that can be controlled with platinum-support interaction. The suitably expanded Pt monolayer (i.e., Pt/Au(111)) exhibits a factor of 7 activity increase in catalyzing methanol electrooxidation relative to Pt(111). Sizable enhancement is also observed for ethanol electrooxidation. Furthermore, a correlation between substrate-induced lateral strain in a Pt monolayer and its activity/selectivity is established and rationalized by experimental and theoretical studies. The knowledge we gained with single-crystal model catalysts was successfully applied in designing real nanocatalysts. These findings for alcohols are likely to be applicable for the oxidation of other classes of organic molecules.

Newly-designed complex ternary Pt/PdCu nanoboxes anchored on three-dimensional graphene framework for highly efficient ethanol oxidation

Newly-designed ternary Pt/PdCu nanoboxes on three-dimensional graphene framework (Pt/PdCu/3DGF) have been fabricated via a dual solvothermal strategy. This structurally well-defined Pt/PdCu/3DGF system possesses an approximately 4-fold improvement in catalytic activity for ethanol oxidation in alkaline media over the commercial 20% Pt/C catalyst as normalized by the total mass of active metals, showing the great potential for direct fuel cell applications.

Highly active Pt3Pb and core-shell Pt3Pb-Pt electrocatalysts for formic acid oxidation

Formic acid is a promising chemical fuel for fuel cell applications. However, due to the dominance of the indirect reaction pathway and strong poisoning effects, the development of direct formic acid fuel cells has been impeded by the low activity of existing electrocatalysts at desirable operating voltage. We report the first synthesis of Pt(3)Pb nanocrystals through solution phase synthesis and show they are highly efficient formic acid oxidation electrocatalysts. The activity can be further improved by manipulating the Pt(3)Pb-Pt core-shell structure. Combined experimental and theoretical studies suggest that the high activity from Pt(3)Pb and the Pt-Pb core-shell nanocrystals results from the elimination of CO poisoning and decreased barriers for the dehydrogenation steps. Therefore, the Pt(3)Pb and Pt-Pb core-shell nanocrystals can improve the performance of direct formic acid fuel cells at desired operating voltage to enable their practical application.

Nanoporous PtCo surface alloy architecture with enhanced properties for methanol electrooxidation

By selectively dealloying a PtCoAl ternary alloy, a novel nanoporous PtCo (np-PtCo) alloy with a three-dimensional bicontinuous pore-ligament structure is successfully fabricated. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic characterizations demonstrate the single-crystal nature of the alloy ligament with a ligament size down to ~3 nm. After a mild electrochemical dealloying process, a nanoporous near-surface alloy structure with a Pt-rich surface and a PtCo alloy core is obtained. Electrochemical measurements show that the np-PtCo surface alloy has greatly enhanced catalytic activity and durability toward methanol electrooxidation compared with a state-of-the-art Pt/C catalyst. The peak current density of methanol electrooxidation on a np-PtCo surface alloy is more than 5 times of that on Pt/C. More importantly, continuous potential cycling from 0.6 to 0.9 V (vs RHE) in a 0.5 M H(2)SO(4) aqueous solution demonstrates that a np-PtCo surface alloy has excellent structure stability, with more than 90% of the initial electrochemical active surface area (EASA) retained after 5000 potential cycles. Under the same conditions, the EASA of Pt/C drops to ~70%. With evident advantages of facile preparation as well as enhanced electrocatalytic activity and durability, a np-PtCo surface alloy nanomaterial holds great potential as an anode catalyst in direct methanol fuel cells.