Geometric Engineering of Porous PtCu Nanotubes with Ultrahigh Methanol Oxidation and Oxygen Reduction Capability

Abstract

Platinum (Pt), as a commonly used electrocatalyst in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs), suffers from sluggish kinetics of both the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Geometric engineering has been proven effective for improving the MOR and ORR activities. Thus, by modulating the Pt precursor and poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) dosages, different porous PtCu nanotubes constructed by hollow nanospheres, solid alloy, and Pt‐rich skinned nanoparticles, respectively, are successfully synthesized. Among them, the solid PtCu alloy nanoparticle coherent nanotubes exhibit the specific activity 9.42 times higher than Pt/C toward MOR, while the hollow PtCu alloy nanosphere coherent nanotubes show the specific activity 4.85 times higher than Pt/C toward ORR. The different Pt:Cu ratios of hollow nanospheres, solid alloy, and Pt‐rich skinned nanoparticles cause the differences in electron transfer from Cu to Pt as well as electronic structures of Pt. As a result, the binding energies of intermediates can be regulated, leading to the enhancement in MOR and ORR.

Recent Advances in Engineered Ru‐Based Electrocatalysts for the Hydrogen/Oxygen Conversion Reactions

“…[12] Precious metal platinum (Pt) is regarded as the "Holy Grail" for hydrogen-oxygen energy conversion reactions, exhibiting excellent catalytic activity and stability. [13,14] However, the high price is the main obstacle impeding the largescale imple mentation. Recently, ruthenium (Ru) has been investigated as one of the promising candidates to replace Pt with relatively low cost (only 6-36% of Pt).…”

Pt Nanowires on Monolayered Graphene Oxide for Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Methanol

“…The significant higher mass activity of PtNW-GO was speculated to be related to the nanowire morphology of Pt, the conductive monolayer rGO, and the intertwined structure of Pt nanowires and GO. The reverse peak current ( I b ) was the oxidation of carbonaceous substances such as CO ads produced by the incomplete oxidation of methanol, so the I f / I b ratio represented the antipoisoning ability of the catalyst . As shown in Table , the I f / I b ratio of PtNW-GO was higher than that of commercial Pt-C, demonstrating better tolerance to CO.…”

Improving the hydrogen evolution performance of self-supported hierarchical NiFe layered double hydroxide via NH3-inducing at room temperature

“…The different atomic ratio of Ni to Fe in NiFe-LDH nanosheets will cause the difference in the charge distribution between Ni and Fe, thereby regulating the binding energies of intermediates and affecting the electrocatalytic performance. 31…”

“…The different atomic ratio of Ni to Fe in NiFe-LDH nanosheets will cause the difference in the charge distribution between Ni and Fe, thereby regulating the binding energies of intermediates and affecting the electrocatalytic performance. 31 Electronic engineering is an effective strategy to remarkably improve the electrocatalytic properties of a catalyst. 32 To be specic, the charge and spin ordering of a catalytic material can be tuned by structural modication and composition regulation.…”