PtIr–WO3 nanostructured alloy for electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene glycol and ethanol

In this article, we characterized tungsten oxide-decorated carbon-supported PtIr nanoparticles and tested it for the electrooxidation reactions of ethylene glycol and ethanol. Phase and morphological evaluation of the proposed electrocatalytic materials are investigated employing various characterization techniques including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Electrochemical diagnostic measurements such as cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, and linear sweep voltammetry revealed that the tungsten oxide-modified PtIr/Vulcan nanoparticles have higher catalytic activity for ethylene glycol and ethanol electrooxidation than that of PtIr/Vulcan. A significant enhancement for electrooxidation of CO-adsorbate monolayers occurred in the presence of a transition metal oxide relative to that of pure PtIr/Vulcan electrocatalyst. The likely reasons for this are modification on the Pt center electronic structure and/or increasing the population of reactive oxo groups at the PtIr/Vulcan electrocatalytic interface in different potential regions.     

Electrocatalytic activity of Pd nanoparticles supported on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-graphene hybrid for ethanol electrooxidation

The support materials play a critical role for the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethanol on precious metal catalysts in fuel cells. Here, we report the poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) combined with reduced graphene oxide (PEDOT-RGO) as the support of Pd nanoparticles (NPs) for ethanol electrooxidation in alkaline medium. The as-prepared Pd/PEDOT-RGO composite catalysts are characterized by Raman spectrometer, X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microcopy, and scanning electron microcopy. PEDOT-RGO composite with the porous structure facilitates the dispersion of Pd NPs with a smaller size leading to the increase of electrochemical active surface area. The electrochemical properties and electrocatalytic activities of Pd/PEDOT-RGO hybrid are evaluated by cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry, CO stripping voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and Tafel analysis. The results suggest that Pd/PEDOT-RGO hybrid shows a higher electrocatalytic activity, a better long-term stability, and the poisoning tolerance for the ethanol electrooxidation than Pd on carbon black. EIS and Tafel analysis indicate that PEDOT-RGO improves the kinetics of ethanol electrooxidation on the Pd NPs and is an efficient support in fuel cells.     

Nanostructured PdRu/C catalysts for formic acid oxidation

Pd and bimetallic PdRu nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon prepared by the microwave-assisted polyol process are examined as electrocatalysts for the electrooxidation of formic acid. The catalysts are characterized by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The Pd and PdRu nanoparticles with sizes of <10 nm display the characteristic diffraction peaks of a Pd face-centered cubic (fcc) crystal structure. It is found that the addition of Ru to Pd/C can decrease the lattice parameter of Pd (fcc) crystal. The electrocatalytic activities of the catalysts are evaluated in sulfuric acid solution containing 1 M formic acid using linear sweeping voltammetry and chronoamperometry. The results show that Pd₅Ru₁/C displays the best electrocatalytic performance among all catalysts for formic acid electrooxidation.     

Porous carbon as electrode material in direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) synthesized by the direct carbonization of MOF-5

Porous carbon (PC-900) was prepared by direct carbonization of porous metal-organic framework (MOF)-5 (Zn₄O(bdc)₃, bdc?=?1,4-benzenedicarboxylate) at 900 °C. The carbon material was deposited with PtM (M?=?Fe, Ni, Co, and Cu (20 %) metal loading) nanoparticles using the polyol reduction method, and catalysts PtM/PC-900 were designed for direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs). However, herein, we are reporting PtFe/PC-900 catalyst combination which has exhibited superior performance among other options. This catalyst was characterized by powder XRD, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) technique. The electrocatalytic capability of the catalyst for ethanol electrooxidation was investigated using cyclic voltammetry and direct ethanol single cell testing. The results were compared with those of PtFe and Pt supported on Vulcan XC72 carbon catalysts (PFe/CX-72 and Pt/XC-72) prepared via the same method. It has been observed that the catalyst PtFe/PC-900 developed in this work showed an outstanding normalized activity per gram of Pt (6.8 mA/g Pt) and superior power density (121 mW/cm² at 90 °C) compared to commercially available carbon-supported catalysts.     

Molybdenum‐tungsten Oxide Nanowires Rich in Oxygen Vacancies as An Advanced Electrocatalyst for Hydrogen Evolution

Electrolysis of water is a promising way to produce hydrogen fuel in large scale. The commercialization of this technology requires highly efficient non‐noble metal electrocatalysts to decease the energy input for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In this work, a novel nanowire structured molybdenum‐tungsten bimetallic oxide (CTAB‐D‐W₄MoO₃) is synthesized by a simple hydrothermal method followed with post annealing treatment. The obtained metal oxides feature with enhanced conductivity, rich oxygen vacancies and customized electronic structure. As such, the composite electrocatalyst exhibits excellent electrocatalytic performance for HER in an acidic environment, achieving a large current density of 100 mA cm^?2 at overpotential of only 286 mV and a small Tafel slope of 71.2 mV dec^?1. The excellent electrocatalytic HER performance of CTAB‐D‐W₄MoO₃ is attributed to the unique nanowire structure, rich catalytic active sites and promoted electron transfer rate.     

Electrospun bimetallic nanowires of PtRh and PtRu with compositional variation for methanol electrooxidation

Binary metallic nanowires (NWs) of PtRh and PtRu were synthesized by electrospinning method with compositional variation from 1:3 to 2:1. The electrospun bimetallic NWs were highly alloyed with diameters smaller than 60 nm and lengths up to hundreds of micrometers. The PtRh and PtRu NWs with 1:1 atomic ratio resulted in the higher catalytic mass activity over the methanol electrooxidation than those with the different atomic ratios, and the mass activity of Pt₁Ru₁ NWs was superior to the other NWs and even better than the commercial catalyst of the highly dispersed Pt₁Ru₁ nanoparticles on carbon. Moreover, the bimetallic NW electrocatalysts showed the better stability than the bimetallic nanoparticles. The enhancements of electrocatalytic properties for the Pt₁Rh₁ and Pt₁Ru₁ NWs could be attributed to their one-dimensional features, which can outperform on the electro-oxidations over the fuel cell electrodes.     

Thermal and plasma synthesis of metal oxide nanoparticles from MOFs with SERS characterization

Aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) and chromium oxide (Cr₂O₃) nanoparticles were synthesized by thermolysis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). Further O₂ plasma treatment is required to obtain high crystalline quality metal oxides. The composition and morphology of metal oxide nanoparticles were confirmed by powder X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy characterization, respectively. The quality of synthesized metal oxides was also examined by observing the surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectra of methyl orange adsorbed on Al₂O₃ and Cr₂O₃. The observed SERS effect can be ascribed to charge-transfer (CT) resonance effect between methyl orange and metal oxide surfaces. UV–vis absorption spectra and DFT calculations of metal oxide- methyl orange complexes have confirmed that the observed SRS effect is due to CT resonance between the metal oxide nanoparticles and the adsorbed methyl orange molecules.     

XPS and factor analysis study of initial stages of cerium oxide growth on polycrystalline tungsten

The initial stages of growth of the nanostructured cerium oxide deposited on the polycrystalline tungsten surface by pulsed laser deposition are studied using XPS technique. The population of Ce (III) and Ce (IV) oxidation states in the deposited CeO_2?x layers is determined applying factor analysis method. Tungsten atoms react with oxygen from the cerium oxide nanoparticles already at the room temperature, and a layer of tungsten trioxide is formed at the interface. Gradual heating of the samples up to 900 K leads to the increase of the thickness of WO₃ oxide layer and a partial reduction of Ce (IV) to Ce (III). The spectra of O (1s) photoelectrons are composed from a signal originating from metal oxides and a signal of surface superoxide and hydroxyl groups. Factor analysis was performed on the spectra of Ce (3d) photoelectrons to determine the position, shape, and intensity of the spectral components belonging to Ce (III) and Ce (IV) oxidation states. We propose a new simple method to generate components of the spectroscopic meaning. The basic idea of our method consists in the use of the slightly positive values instead of zeros to the needle test vector. Two components are required to reproduce the original data within the experimental errors. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Engineering Non‐sintered,Metal‐Terminated Tungsten Carbide Nanoparticles for Catalysis

Transition‐metal carbides (TMCs) exhibit catalytic activities similar to platinum group metals (PGMs), yet TMCs are orders of magnitude more abundant and less expensive. However, current TMC synthesis methods lead to sintering, support degradation, and surface impurity deposition, ultimately precluding their wide‐scale use as catalysts. A method is presented for the production of metal‐terminated TMC nanoparticles in the 1–4 nm range with tunable size, composition, and crystal phase. Carbon‐supported tungsten carbide (WC) and molybdenum tungsten carbide (Mo_xW_1?xC) nanoparticles are highly active and stable electrocatalysts. Specifically, activities and capacitances about 100‐fold higher than commercial WC and within an order of magnitude of platinum‐based catalysts are achieved for the hydrogen evolution and methanol electrooxidation reactions. This method opens an attractive avenue to replace PGMs in high energy density applications such as fuel cells and electrolyzers.     

Preparation of Ru-doped SnO2-supported Pt catalysts and their electrocatalytic properties for methanol oxidation

Ru-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were prepared by chemical precipitation and calcinations at 823 K. Due to high stability in diluted acidic solution, Ru-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were selected as the catalyst support and second catalyst for methanol electrooxidation. The micrograph, elemental composition, and structure of the Ru-doped SnO2 nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The electrocatalytic properties of the Ru-doped SnO2-supported Pt catalyst (Pt/Ru-doped SnO2) for methanol oxidation have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Under the same loading mass of Pt, the Pt/Ru-doped SnO2 catalyst shows better electrocatalytic performance than the Pt/SnO2 catalyst and the best atomic ratio of Ru to Sn in Ru-doped SnO2 is 1/75. Additionally, the Pt/Ru-doped SnO2 catalyst possesses good long-term cycle stability.     

Enhanced electrochemical evolution of oxygen by using nanoflowers made from a gold and iridium oxide composite

We report on the synthesis of a composite made from iridium oxide and gold that has a flower-like morphology. The ratio of iridium oxide to gold can be controlled by altering the concentrations of the metal precursors or the pH of the solution containing the reductant citrate. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and laser confocal micro-Raman spectroscopy were applied to characterize the structures of the nanoflowers, and a mechanism of their formation was deduced. The nanoflowers display an electrocatalytic activity in an oxygen evolution reaction (OER) that is significantly enhanced compared to bare iridium oxide nanoparticles. The highest turnover frequency for the OER of the new nanoflowers is 10.9?s^?1, which is almost one order of magnitude better than that of the respective nanoparticles. These attractive features are attributed to the high oxidation states of iridium in the nanoflowers which is caused by the transfer of electronic charge from metal oxides to gold, and also to the flower fractal structure which is thought to provide a much more accessible surface than suspensions of the respective nanoparticle.

Nitrogen-doped graphene supporting PtSn nanoparticles with a tunable microstructure to enhance the activity and stability for ethanol oxidation

In this work, a series of nitrogen-doped graphenes (NGs) were prepared by deriving from pyrolysis of graphite oxide (GO) with urea at different temperatures and high-dispersed PtSn nanoparticles with tunable size were then deposited onto nitrogen-doped graphene (PtSn/NG) by an easy-controlled template-free method. The PtSn/NG and undoped graphene (PtSn/G) were carried out as anode catalysts for the electrooxidation of ethanol. The microstructure and morphology of the synthesized catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrocatalytic performance toward ethanol oxidation was evaluated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. It is found that the pyrolysis temperature is an important factor which influenced the contents of nitrogen and functional groups of nitrogen. And then, the functional groups of nitrogen affect the distribution, size, and contents of PtSn nanoparticles. The as-obtained optimal PtSn/NG-600 sample with narrower size distribution and high content of PtSn exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity and stability compared with the other samples, implying the potential application for ethanol fuel cells.     

Metal Oxide Promoted Electrocatalysts for Methanol Oxidation

An important research target in DMFCs is to find better catalyst materials that are cheaper, less-prone to poisoning and more catalytically active. In this context, metal oxides with good catalytic properties and stronger interaction with Pt nanoparticles can generate active interfacial regions for electrocatalysis. Pt catalysts promoted by certain metal oxides show enhanced methanol electro-oxidation activity and CO tolerance behavior. In this paper we summarize the recent progress from our laboratory which explored the possibility of developing Pt–MoO₃/C and Pt–Nb₂O₅/C electrocatalysts in acidic media, and Pt–V₂O₅/C electrocatalyst in alkaline media for direct electro-oxidation of methanol. The oxide electrocatalysts have been prepared by a fast and efficient method of loading the metal oxide on carbon black (Vulcan XC-72) employing an intermittent microwave heating (IMH) method. These materials are found to achieve higher activity and stability towards methanol electro-oxidation.     

改性炭黑-LaMnO3复合材料的制备及其共价复合效应对氧还原性能的影响

以VulcanXC-72炭黑为载体,通过对炭载体石墨化处理和表面化学修饰,将其与化学沉淀法制备的纳米级LaMnO₃颗粒共混,再经特定温度下煅烧,制备出改性炭黑-LaMnO₃复合材料.X射线光电子能谱和热重分析表明,当煅烧温度在300℃时,炭载体与LaMnO₃纳米颗粒之间形成了大量C-O-M（M=La,Mn）化学键.扫描电子显微镜和高分辨透射电子显微镜分析发现,纯相LaMnO₃纳米颗粒主要呈现短棒、三支棒或竹节棒的形貌特征,炭载体则为具有完整石墨层的空心球结构,LaMnO₃均匀分散在炭载体上.在25℃,1mol/LNaOH溶液中的电化学测试结果表明,成分比（LaMnO₃：C）为2：3的复合材料具有很高的氧还原电催化活性,氧还原反应电子数为3.81,中间产物H₂O₂产率为9.5%,其活性接近商业Pt/C催化剂（E-TEK）.高的氧还原电催化活性主要归因于LaMnO₃纳米颗粒与炭载体之间形成了大量共价键.     

Monitoring surface metal oxide catalytic active sites with Raman spectroscopy

The molecular aspect of the Raman vibrational selection rules allows for the molecular structural and reactivity determinations of metal oxide catalytic active sites in all types of oxide catalyst systems (supported metal oxides, zeolites, layered hydroxides, polyoxometalates (POMs), bulk pure metal oxides, bulk mixed oxides and mixed oxide solid solutions). The molecular structural and reactivity determinations of metal oxide catalytic active sites are greatly facilitated by the use of isotopically labeled molecules. The ability of Raman spectroscopy to (1) operate in all phases (liquid, solid, gas and their mixtures), (2) operate over a very wide temperature (-273 to >1000 °C) and pressure (UHV to ?100 atm) range, and (3) provide molecular level information about metal oxides makes Raman spectroscopy the most informative characterization technique for understanding the molecular structure and surface chemistry of the catalytic active sites present in metal oxide heterogeneous catalysts. The recent use of hyphenated Raman spectroscopy instrumentation (e.g., Raman-IR, Raman-UV-vis, Raman-EPR) and the operando Raman spectroscopy methodology (e.g., Raman-MS and Raman-GC) is allowing for the establishment of direct structure-activity/selectivity relationships that will have a significant impact on catalysis science in this decade. Consequently, this critical review will show the growth in the use of Raman spectroscopy in heterogeneous catalysis research, for metal oxides as well as metals, is poised to continue to exponentially grow in the coming years (173 references).     

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of nanostructured Pd/C and PdNi/C catalysts for methanol oxidation

Pd and PdNi nanoparticles supported on Vulcan XC-72 carbon were prepared by a chemical reduction with formic acid process. The catalysts were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry, and chronoamperometry. The results showed that the Pd and PdNi nanoparticles, which were uniformly dispersed on carbon, were 2–10 nm in diameters. The PdNi/C catalyst has higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation in alkaline media than a comparative Pd/C catalyst and shows great potential as less expensive electrocatalyst for methanol electrooxidation in alkaline media in direct methanol fuel cells.     

One-step synthesis of stoichiometrically defined metal oxide nanoparticles at room temperature

A great variety of metal oxide nanoparticles have been readily synthesized by using alkali metal oxides, M(2)O (M is Na or Li) and soluble metal salts (metal chlorides) in polar organic solutions, for example, methanol and ethanol, at room temperature. The oxidation states of the metals in the resulting metal oxides (Cu(2)O, CuO, ZnO, Al(2)O(3), Fe(2)O(3), Bi(2)O(3), TiO(2), SnO(2), CeO(2), Nb(2)O(5), WO(3), and CoFe(2)O(4)) range from 1 to 6 and remain invariable through the reactions where good control of stoichiometry is achieved. Metal oxide nanoparticles are 1-30 nm and have good monodispersivity and displayed comparable optical spectra. These syntheses are based on a general ion reaction pathway during which the precipitate occurs when O(2-) ions meet metal cations (M(n+)) in anhydrous solution and the reaction equation is M(n+) + n/2 O(2-) --> MO(n/2) (n=1-6).     

Solid sampling electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry for analysis of high-purity tungsten trioxide and high-purity tungsten blue oxide

A solid sampling ETAAS method for the direct determination of Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni and Zn in high-purity tungsten trioxide and tungsten blue oxide powders using a modern spectrometer with transversely heated graphite tube and a solid sampling system is described. The extremely high background caused by the vaporizing tungsten oxides could be eliminated by the reduction to tungsten metal using hydrogen as purge gas during pyrolysis. Quantification of all elements was performed using calibration curves measured with aqueous standard solutions. The analyte contents determined were between 0.033 (Cu) and 12.6 (Fe) μg/g for tungsten trioxide and between 0.001 (Co) and 0.5 (Na) μg/g for tungsten blue oxide. The accuracy was checked by comparing the results with those obtained by ETAAS in analysis of HF/HNO₃ sample digests and by other methods. Extremely low limits of detection being between 0.07 (Mg, Na, Zn) - 2 (Ni) and 0.01 (Mg, Na, Ni) - 1.7 (Fe) ng/g for tungsten trioxide and tungsten blue oxide, respectively, could be achieved due to almost complete freedom of blank and unusually high applicable sample amounts (5–15 mg for tungsten trioxide and 5–70 mg for tungsten blue oxide).     

Enhanced Electrocatalytic Activity of Dual Template Based Pt/Cu‐zeolite A/Graphene for Methanol Electrooxidation

A novel Pt/Cu‐zeolite A/graphene based electrocatalyst was successfully prepared by chemical reduction method for methanol electrooxidation. Graphite oxide and Cu functionalized zeolite A were simultaneously reduced by NaBH₄ to prepare Cu‐zeolite A/graphene support which was used to deposit Pt nanoparticles. The nanostructure and composition of as‐prepared Pt/Cu‐zeolite A/graphene composites were characterized by X‐ray diffractometer, X‐ray fluorescence, Fourier transform infrared spectrometer and scanning electron microscopy. The electrocatalytic properties of Pt/Cu‐zeolite A/graphene modified electrode for methanol oxidation were investigated by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in 0.10 mol/L H₂SO₄ + 0.50 mol/L CH₃OH solution. Compared with Pt/zeolite A/graphene electrode and Pt/graphene electrode, Pt/Cu‐zeolite A/graphene based electrode exhibited obviously enhanced current and higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol electrooxidation. The increased electrocatalytic activity was attributed to the presence of zeolite A and reduced graphene oxide based dual template, which significantly increased the effective electrode surface and facilitated the diffusion of analytes into the electroactive catalyst.     

石墨烯负载高活性Pd催化剂对乙醇的电催化氧化

以石墨粉为原料, 采用Hummers法液相氧化合成了氧化石墨(GO), 然后用化学一步还原制得石墨烯负载钯催化剂. X射线衍射(XRD)、透射电镜(TEM)表征表明, Pd在石墨烯载体上有较好的分散度, 粒径为3-5 nm. 电化学活性面积(EASA)、循环伏安(CV)、计时电流(CA)和计时电位(CP)等电化学测试表明, 与传统Pd/Vulcan XC-72相比, Pd/石墨烯催化剂对碱性介质中乙醇电催化氧化的催化活性有了很大的提高.