Engineering Flower-like Ni₃S₂ on Nanoporous CuAg Alloy Heterostructure for Efficient Methanol Oxidation Reaction

Abstract

Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) have captured increasing attention as promising renewable energy devices. The development of innovative, cost-effective electrocatalysts with superior performance for the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) holds great significance in promoting DMFCs. In this study, a facile dealloying−electrodeposition method was employed to fabricate stereospecific Ni 3 S 2 nanoflowers on a three-dimensional nanoporous CuAg substrate (Ni 3 S 2 @CuAg) for accelerating MOR. The nanoporous CuAg alloy substrate was prepared by dealloying of the metallic glassy (MG) alloy precursor, and the Ni 3 S 2 nanoflowers were in situ grown on the nanoporous CuAg skeleton through a simple electrodeposition process. The novel Ni 3 S 2 @CuAg catalysts exhibit outstanding catalytic performance for MOR owing to their preeminent conductivity, large specific surface area, and abundant active reaction sites. Notably, the optimal Ni 3 S 2 @CuAg-10 exhibited a superior current density of 340.5 mA cm −2 at 1 V along with good stability (93% current density retention after 2 h) in 1 M KOH and 1 M CH 3 OH solution. This work presents a novel strategy for designing electrocatalysts with high efficiency and durability for MOR.

2023 Pioneers in Energy Research: Shizhang Qiao

“…They showed that the performance of LMO can be significantly improved by wrapping LMO with ion-selective reduced graphene oxide coatings. Luo et al 72 developed novel Ni 3 S 2 nanoflowers on a negatively charging 3D nanoporous CuAg substrate for catalytic oxidation of methanol in direct methanol fuel cells. The catalysts exhibit excellent catalytic performance owing to their preeminent conductivity, large specific surface area, and abundant active reaction sites.…”

Review and Perspective of Nickel and Its Derived Catalysts for Different Electrochemical Synthesis Reactions in Alkaline Media for Hydrogen Production

“…A recent study by Xia and co-workers prepared flower-like Ni 3 S 2 on a CuAg alloy for effective methanol oxidation. They suggest that the outstanding MOR performance of Ni 3 S 2 @CuAg catalysts may be due to their abundant active reaction sites, large specific surface areas, and preeminent conductivity.…”