Facile Synthesis of Quaternary Structurally Ordered L1₂-Pt(Fe, Co, Ni)₃ Nanoparticles with Low Content of Platinum as Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalysts

Abstract

Synthesis of electrocatalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with not only prominent electrocatalytic performance but also a low amount of Pt is the urgent challenge in the popularization of fuel cells. In this work, through a facile synthetic strategy of spray dehydration on a solid surface and annealing process, we demonstrate the first manufacture of quaternary structurally ordered PtM3 (M = transition metal) intermetallic nanoparticles (NPs), Pt(Fe, Co, Ni)3, in order to lower the content of Pt. The atomic contents of Pt, Fe, Co, and Ni are equal and the chemical structure of Pt(Fe, Co, Ni)3 is a cubic L12-ordered structure. L12-Pt(Fe, Co, Ni)3/C electrocatalysts exhibit enhanced electrocatalytic performance toward ORR with mass activity (MA) 6.6 times higher than the commercial Pt/C and a minimal loss of 17% in MA and 1.5% loss in specific activity (SA) after 10 000 potential cycles at 0.9 V. Furthermore, the stability behavior is confirmed to be attributed to the coaction of particle sizes and the ordering effect. Compared with traditional Pt-based electrocatalysts in the stoichiometric forms of Pt3M and PtM, L12-Pt(Fe, Co, Ni)3 intermetallic NPs exhibit excellent performance and higher cost effectiveness. Moreover, this work also proposes a facile and effective synthetic strategy for manufacturing multicomponent Pt-based electrocatalysts for ORR.

High Performing Chemically Ordered Pt2CoNi/Ti@C as an Efficient and Stable Cathode Catalyst for Oxygen Reduction

“…A corresponding positive shift has been observed in the XP spectrum of Ti as depicted in Figure b. The spin–orbit coupling between the 2p 1/2 and 2p 3/2 results in the occurrence of two peaks at 465.09 and 459.4 eV in comparison to pure TiO 2 (464.7 and 458.8 eV, respectively) . Thus, the existence of TiO 2 on the CNTs and the charge transfer from the hybrid support to the metallic alloy core can be testified.…”

Synthesis of Structurally Stable and Highly Active PtCo3 Ordered Nanoparticles through an Easily Operated Strategy for Enhanced Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…The facile synthetic strategy for PtCo 3 /C nanocatalysts is an improvement on our previously reported method involving the spray dehydration method and annealing process, 34 as shown in Figure 1. Beforehand, a well-dispersed suspension containing a specific amount of chloroplatinic acid, cobalt nitrate, PVP, and carbon black is prepared through an ultrasonic treatment.…”

“…The synthetic strategy for fabricating PtCo 3 /C nanocatalysts was based on our previously reported method . In a general fabrication process, 200 mg of H 2 PtCl 6 ·6H 2 O, 337.15 mg of Co­(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O, and 287.2 mg of PVP were dissolved in 50 mL of deionized water, followed by an ultrasonic processing for 10 min.…”

“…The spray dehydration method could also enrich the universal synthetic strategies for preparation of efficient Pt-based ORR catalysts. 34 In a general fabrication process, 200 mg of H 2 PtCl 6 •6H 2 O, 337.15 mg of Co(NO 3 ) 2 •6H 2 O, and 287.2 mg of PVP were dissolved in 50 mL of deionized water, followed by an ultrasonic processing for 10 min. Afterward, 574.41 mg of Vulcan XC-72R was added into the homogeneous solution to acquire 20 wt % alloy loading on carbon support and then the suspension went through another ultrasonic processing for 1 h. Then, the spray dehydration method was executed where the uniformly dispersed suspension was sprayed onto a quartz plate maintained at 300 °C.…”

Electrospinning Synthesis of Carbon-Supported Pt3Mn Intermetallic Nanocrystals and Electrocatalytic Performance towards Oxygen Reduction Reaction

“…During the ORR process, the M component in PtM alloys seriously suffers from the chemical oxidation and etching action, ultimately resulting in a catalytic performance decay [11]. By contrast, the intermetallic PtM alloys with defined stoichiometry and crystal structure combine high activity and durability, serving as an ideal ORR catalyst [12][13][14]. The enhanced stability arises from the strong binding interaction between the two metal elements, which greatly reduces the mobility of M in the PtM intermetallics [15][16][17].…”