Carbon nanotubes as a support for Pt-and Pt-Ru-catalysts of reactions proceeding in fuel cells

Comparative study of two types of single-wall carbon nanotubes and standard carbon black Vulcan XC-72 as supports for catalysts of reactions proceeding in fuel cells is carried out. The nanotubes were prepared by arc method; they differed in the degree of their purifying from amorphous carbon and metal impurities. The structure and hydrophobic-hydrophilic properties of these carbon supports are studied by etalon porosimetry. The effect of the supports’ specific surface area on the deposited catalyst particles size and specific surface area is studied. The catalysts (Pt-Ru and Pt) were deposited from aqueous solutions of their salts. Platinum was also deposited by thermal decomposition of ethoxy clusters. It is shown that in methanol oxidation reaction at the Pt-Ru catalysts the current values per unit true surface area do not depend on the support nature, provided the catalyst loading is equal and the particle size is similar. When oxygen is reduced at platinum deposited onto purified nanotubes and the carbon black Vulcan XC-72, specific kinetic currents also are close to each other. It is shown that the degree of nanotubes purification and their structure affect the kinetics of this reaction significantly.     

铂合金氧还原催化剂:合成、结构和性能

质子交换膜燃料电池是一种将燃料中的化学能直接转化为电能的装置,它具有转化效率高、能量密度高、低温启动、易于操作等优点,因而被认为是最具发展前景的新能源利用方式,在电动汽车、便携电源及分散式电站有着广泛应用.但是,目前质子交换膜燃料电池技术的发展面临着巨大挑战,主要问题包括高成本、低功率密度和低寿命.众所周知,质子交换膜燃料电池中的阴极氧还原反应在酸性条件下是一个复杂的四电子过程,动力学速度缓慢,限制了电池的最终性能.目前大量使用的阴极氧还原催化剂是细小的铂或铂合金纳米颗粒负载在碳载体上,其成本占燃料电池总成本的比例最大.制约燃料电池商业化发展的另一个重要问题是电池寿命低,其中氧还原催化剂的稳定性是决定电池寿命的主要因素.在这样的研究背景下,如何降低催化剂中铂的用量、提高催化剂活性和稳定性显得尤为重要,这也是近年来国内外学者研究的热点.在铂基合金催化剂中,通常采用过渡金属元素作为掺杂元素,由于原子半径不匹配(几何效应)以及电子结构不同(电子效应),合金催化剂表现出优于纯铂催化剂的催化性能.近几年,对于铂基合金催化剂的研究已取得重大进展,以合金组成和结构研究为基础,通过精确控制原子结构、调控表面电子状态以及制备工艺,获得了各种特殊形貌的催化剂,大大提高了催化活性.本文深入综述了近年来铂基合金氧还原催化剂制备、形貌和性能,特别关注了催化剂形貌和催化活性之间的关系.值得注意的是,具有有序原子排列的铂合金催化剂不仅在半电池中表现出优异活性,在实际质子交换膜燃料电池中也显示了很好的活性和稳定性.另一方面,碳载体的形貌及微观结构也对提高催化活性和稳定性起到决定性作用,通过化学手段加强金属纳米颗粒与碳载体之间的相互作用也是提高催化剂稳定性的重要途径.尽管铂基氧还原催化剂在近几年取得了重要进展,但在实际商业化过程中还存在诸多挑战,本文在综述进展的基础上,对铂基催化剂的发展提出了展望.首先,对于氧还原反应机理仍需要深入研究,采用更加精确的理论模型模拟氧还原动力学过程,以获得影响催化活性的关键因素.其次,提高催化剂在膜电极中的催化活性和利用率.目前,氧还原催化剂在半电池测试中性能优异,但是实际燃料电池操作条件下其性能远不能达到要求,这与膜电极、催化剂层及扩散层结构相关.因此,基于不同铂基催化剂的特性,合理设计膜电极组件的结构是将催化剂进行实际应用的基础.最后,催化剂的稳定性仍需进一步提高,尽管目前大部分催化剂在实验室半电池研究中表现了很好的稳定性,但在实际燃料电池中的稳定性研究还不足,而且对催化剂在膜电极中性能衰退机理的研究也非常有限.因此,对于铂基氧还原催化剂的研发仍需要国内外科研工作者不懈的努力.     

A Universal and Facile Way for the Development of Superior Bifunctional Electrocatalysts for Oxygen Reduction and Evolution Reactions Utilizing the Synergistic Effect

Increasing energy demands have stimulated intense research activities on reversible electrochemical conversion and storage systems with high efficiency, low cost, and environmental benignity. It is highly challenging but desirable to develop efficient bifunctional catalysts for both the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER). A universal and facile method for the development of bifunctional electrocatalysts with outstanding electrocatalytic activity for both the ORR and OER in alkaline medium is reported. A mixture of Pt/C catalyst with superior ORR activity and a perovskite oxide based catalyst with outstanding OER activity was employed in appropriate ratios, and prepared by simple ultrasonic mixing. Nanosized platinum particles with a wide range of platinum to oxide mass ratios was realized easily in this way. The as‐formed Pt/C–oxide composites showed better ORR activity than a single Pt/C catalyst and better OER activity than a single oxide to bring about much improved bifunctionality (ΔE is only ≈0.8 V for Pt/C–BSCF; BSCF=Ba_0.5Sr_0.5Co_0.8Fe_0.2O_3?δ), due to the synergistic effect. The electronic transfer mechanism and the rate‐determining step and spillover mechanism were two possible origins of such a synergistic effect. Additionally, the phenomenon was found to be universal, although the best performance could be reached at different platinum to oxide mass ratios for different oxide catalysts. This work thus provides an innovative strategy for the development of new bifunctional electrocatalysts with wide application potentials in high‐energy and efficient electrochemical energy storage and conversion.     

Control of the Interfacial Wettability to Synthesize Highly Dispersed PtPd Nanocrystals for Efficient Oxygen Reduction Reaction

Highly dispersed PtPd bimetallic nanocrystals with enhanced catalytic activity and stability were prepared by adjusting the interfacial wettability of the reaction solution on a commercial carbon support. This approach holds great promise for the development of high‐performance and low‐cost catalysts for practical applications.     

Self-supported interconnected Pt nanoassemblies as highly stable electrocatalysts for low-temperature fuel cells

In it for the long haul: Clusters of Pt nanowires (3D Pt nanoassemblies, Pt?NA) serve as an electrocatalyst for low-temperature fuel cells. These Pt nanoassemblies exhibit remarkably high stability following thousands of voltage cycles and good catalytic activity, when compared with a commercial Pt?catalyst and 20?%?wt Pt?catalyst supported on carbon black (20?% Pt/CB).     

Facile Synthesis of Quasi‐One‐Dimensional Au/PtAu Heterojunction Nanotubes and Their Application as Catalysts in an Oxygen‐Reduction Reaction

An intermediate‐template‐directed method has been developed for the synthesis of quasi‐one‐dimensional Au/PtAu heterojunction nanotubes by the heterogeneous nucleation and growth of Au on Te/Pt core–shell nanostructures in aqueous solution. The synthesized porous Au/PtAu bimetallic nanotubes (PABNTs) consist of porous tubular framework and attached Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). The reaction intermediates played an important role in the preparation, which fabricated the framework and provided a localized reducing agent for the reduction of the Au and Pt precursors. The Pt₇Au PABNTs showed higher electrocatalytic activity and durability in the oxygen‐reduction reaction (ORR) in 0.1 M HClO₄ than porous Pt nanotubes (PtNTs) and commercially available Pt/C. The mass activity of PABNTs was 218 % that of commercial Pt/C after an accelerated durability test. This study demonstrates the potential of PABNTs as highly efficient electrocatalysts. In addition, this method provides a facile strategy for the synthesis of desirable hetero‐nanostructures with controlled size and shape by utilizing an intermediate template.     

Effects of the Pt Shell Thickness on the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on a Well-Defined Pd@Pt Core-Shell Model Surface

The effect of the Pt shell thickness on the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of a Pd@Pt core-shell catalyst was studied using surface science technics and computational approaches. We found Pt shells on Pd rods to be negatively charged because of charge transfer from the Pd substrate when the shell thicknesses were 0.5 or 1 monolayer (ML). The activities of the ORR of the model surface with a Pt shell of 0.5 or 1 ML were similar and more than twice the activities of a Pt/C or Pt rod. The relationship between the ORR activity and the thickness of the Pt shell was the exact opposite of the relationship between the Pt binding energy and the Pt shell thickness. The indication was that more negatively charged Pt had higher ORR activity. Density functional theory calculations confirmed that a single layer of Pt atoms located on Pd was negatively charged compared to pure Pt and resulted in a lower barrier to the rate-limiting step of the ORR.     

Synthesis and Pyrolysis of Fullerenol-stabilized Pt Nanocolloids as a unique Approach to Pt-doped Carbon

An aqueous colloidal dispersion of Pt nanoparticles (NPs) stabilized by fullerenol C₆₀(OH)₁₂ (Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂) was successfully synthesized via liquid-phase chemical reduction. The subsequent pyrolysis of Pt:C₆₀(OH)₁₂ at different temperatures was conducted to afford Pt-doped carbon with different chemical compositions (Pt:C60ⁿ). X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) and Infrared (IR) absorption spectroscopy and thermogravimetric measurements revealed that the thus-prepared nanocomposite consists of Pt NPs and high valent Pt-C₆₀(OH)₁₂ complex. One distinct feature of C₆₀(OH)₁₂ matrix as catalyst support is the suppression of size growth of Pt NPs during the pyrolysis up to 300 °C. Electrochemical experiments using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) were performed to find that Pt:C60³⁰⁰ (pyrolyzed at 300 °C) exhibited higher activity than others, that was attributed to the π-extended feature of the as-obtained carbon.