Enhanced activity and stability of Pt/C fuel cell anodes by the modification with ruthenium-oxide nanosheets

Metal Oxide Nanosheet: Synthesis Approaches and Applications in Energy Storage Devices (Batteries, Fuel Cells, and Supercapacitors)

In recent years, the increasing energy requirement and consumption necessitates further improvement in energy storage technologies to obtain high cycling stability, power and energy density, and specific capacitance. Two-dimensional metal oxide nanosheets have gained much interest due to their attractive features, such as composition, tunable structure, and large surface area which make them potential materials for energy storage applications. This review focuses on the establishment of synthesis approaches of metal oxide nanosheets (MO nanosheets) and their advancements over time, as well as their applicability in several electrochemical energy storage systems, such as fuel cells, batteries, and supercapacitors. This review provides a comprehensive comparison of different synthesis approaches of MO nanosheets, as well their suitability in several energy storage applications. Among recent improvements in energy storage systems, micro-supercapacitors, and several hybrid storage systems are rapidly emerging. MO nanosheets can be employed as electrode and catalyst material to improve the performance parameters of energy storage devices. Finally, this review outlines and discusses the prospects, future challenges, and further direction for research and applications of metal oxide nanosheets.

Sol-Gel Synthesis of Ruthenium Oxide Nanowires To Enhance Methanol Oxidation in Supported Platinum Nanoparticle Catalysts

A template-directed, sol-gel synthesis is utilized to produce crystalline RuO₂ nanowires. Crystalline nanowires with a diameter of 128 ± 15 nm were synthesized after treating the nanowires at 600 °C in air. Analysis of these nanowires by X-ray powder diffraction revealed the major crystalline phase to be tetragonal RuO₂ with a small quantity of metallic ruthenium present. Further analysis of the nanowire structures by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy reveals that they are polycrystalline and are composed of interconnected, highly crystalline, nanoparticles having an average size of ∼25 nm. Uniform 3 nm Pt nanoparticles were dispersed on the surface of RuO₂ nanowires using an ambient, solution-based technique yielding a hybrid catalyst for methanol oxidation. Linear sweep voltammograms (LSVs) and chronoamperometry performed in the presence of methanol in an acidic electrolyte revealed a significant enhancement in the onset potential, mass activity, and long-term stability compared with analogous Pt nanoparticles supported on commercially available Vulcan XC-72R carbon nanoparticles. Formic acid oxidation LSVs and CO stripping voltammetry revealed that the RuO₂-supported Pt nanoparticles exhibit significantly higher CO tolerance, which leads to higher catalytic stability over a period of several hours. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results suggest that crystalline RuO₂ leads to less-significant oxidation of the Pt surface relative to more widely studied hydrous RuO₂ supports, thereby increasing catalytic performance.

The effect of hydrothermal treatment time and level of carbon coating on the performance of PtRu/C catalysts in a direct methanol fuel cell

The existence of carbon nanolayer on the surface of the PtRu/C catalyst from glucosein situcarbonization inhibits the migration and coalescence of PtRu metal nanoparticles on the support.

Conductivity of ruthenate nanosheets prepared via electrostatic self-assembly: characterization of isolated single nanosheet crystallite to mono- and multilayer electrodes

Ultrathin films composed of ruthenate nanosheets (RuO(2)ns) were fabricated via electrostatic self-assembly of unilamellar RuO(2)ns crystallites derived by total exfoliation of an ion-exchangeable layered ruthenate. Ultrathin films with submonolayer to monolayer RuO(2)ns coverage and multilayered RuO(2)ns thin films were prepared by controlled electrostatic self-assembly and layer-by-layer deposition using a cationic copolymer as the counterion. Electrical properties of a single RuO(2)ns crystallite were successfully measured by means of scanning probe microscopy. The sheet resistance of an isolated single RuO(2)ns crystallite was 12 kΩ sq(-1). Self-assembled submonolayer films behaved as a continuous conducting film for coverage above 70%, which was discussed based on a two-dimensional percolation model. Low sheet resistance was attained for multilayered films with values less than 1 kΩ sq(-1). Interestingly, the grain boundary resistance between nanosheets seems to contribute only slightly to the sheet resistance of self-assembled films.