Lavender-Like Ga-Doped Pt₃Co Nanowires for Highly Stable and Active Electrocatalysis

Abstract

One-dimensional (1D) PtM (M = Fe, Co, Ni) nanowires (NWs), which represent a thriving class of electrocatalysts for fuel cells, are experiencing a restriction in long-term durability because of the dissolving issue related to transition metals. Utilizing one-dimensional Pt3Co NWs as the basic catalyst model, here we have successfully demonstrated significant improvements in electrocatalytic durability and activity derived from doping of Ga atoms. The optimized surface energy caused by the doping of Ga atoms drives the resulting catalysts to exhibit good durability for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalysis. However, although oxygen binding energy (E O) would rather deviate from the optimal value because of excessive Ga on the surface, the formation of proper Ga–O bonding can also promote oxygen binding to approach an optimal value, which results in an enhanced ORR activity. It can be therefore concluded that doping of an appropriate amount of Ga atoms has a positive effect in improving the ORR performance of the catalyst, not only in terms of specific activity but also in durability. This interesting phenomenon was also further extended to improve the catalysis of methanol oxidation (MOR) and ethanol oxidation (EOR) reactions, thus reflecting multifunctionalities of lavender-like Ga-doped Pt3Co NWs on fuel cell reactions. This study highlights the great potential of Ga-doped strategies for surface and near-surface regulation, which can effectively address the poor durability of 1D Pt-based NWs for energy catalytic technology.

Highly Stable Pt‐Based Ternary Systems for Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Acidic Electrolytes

“…also confirmed the stabilizing effect of Ga doping in ORR with lavender‐like Pt 3 Co nanowires (Figure 15e). [ 213 ] In durability testing, 8% Ga‐doped Pt3Co nanowires showed a remarkable mass activity retention of 95.3% after 20 000 cycles (Figure 15f), while 2% and 4% doping retained 58.9% and 71.3% of the initial mass activities, respectively. These results confirm a direct relationship between catalyst stability and Ga‐doping concentration.…”

Nano High‐Entropy Materials: Synthesis Strategies and Catalytic Applications

“…Conversion of CO 2 into value-added carbon-based fuels and commodity chemicals via electrochemical reduction reaction represents a viable alternative to decrease CO 2 emission. [121][122][123][124][125][126][127][128][129][130][131][132][133] However, a high potential for CO 2 RR is desired because of the multiple-electron transfer process with large kinetic barriers. [134] In addition, the competition with HER in aqueous media restricts the high selectivity and faradaic efficiency of CO 2 RR.…”

“…The np‐HEAs showed a much higher half‐wave potential of ≈0.90 V (Figure 7j) compared with those of commercial Pt/C. Moreover, its intrinsic activities corresponding to electrochemical active surface area (ECSA) and Pt mass (Figure 7k) were at least ten times those of Pt/C and higher than most well‐established traditional alloys such as Ga–Pt 3 Co/C alloy [ 122 ] and Pt 4 PdCu 0.4 nanoframes, [ 123 ] demonstrating the superior electrocatalytic activities of HEA‐NPs. The excellent ORR activity was benefited from the well‐mixed PtPdAu surface and the dominant (111) plane of np‐HEAs, which provided a relatively low free energy change for the final water formation.…”

High‐Index Faceted PdPtCu Ultrathin Nanorings Enable Highly Active and Stable Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalysis

“…The most classic method is alloying with other transition metals (M), usually accompanied by the regulation of surface or near‐surface atomic rearrangement, aiming to rationally tune the electronic structure, which can improve the electrocatalytic activity. [ 13–18 ] Another strategy is to manipulate the dimension and morphology of electrocatalysts, such as icosahedra, [ 19,20 ] nanowires, [ 21–24 ] nanobranches, [ 25,26 ] nanoframes, [ 27–29 ] nanoplates, [ 30–32 ] and nanosheets, [ 33–36 ] which can maximize the Pt‐ or Pd‐utilization and optimize the surface coordination structures. Among various Pd(Pt)‐M structures, 2D nanosheets with ultrathin features stand out due to their unique physicochemical properties, including high atomic utilization, active surface area and fast electron transfer, etc.…”