Electrochemical Designing of Au/Pt Core Shell Nanoparticles as Nanostructured Catalyst with Tunable Activity for Oxygen Reduction

Au/Pt core shell nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared via a layer‐by‐layer growth of Pt layers on Au NPs using underpotential deposition (UPD) redox replacement technique. A single UPD Cu monolayer replacement with Pt(II) yielded a uniform Pt film on Au NPs, and the shell thickness can be tuned by controlling the number of UPD redox replacement cycles. Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in air‐saturated 0.1 M H₂SO₄ was used to investigate the electrocatalytic behavior of the as‐prepared core shell NPs. Cyclic voltammograms of ORR show that the peak potentials shift positively from 0.32 V to 0.48 V with the number of Pt layers increasing from one to five, suggesting the electrocatalytic activity increases with increasing the thickness of Pt shell. The increase in electrocatalytic activity may originate mostly from the large decrease of electronic influence of Au cores on surface Pt atoms. Rotating ring‐disk electrode voltammetry and rotating disk electrode voltammetry demonstrate that ORR is mainly a four‐electron reduction on the as‐prepared modified electrode with 5 Pt layers and first charge transfer is the rate‐determining step.     

质子交换膜燃料电池Pd修饰Pt/C催化剂的电催化性能

通过对Pt催化剂表面进行Pd修饰提高质子交换膜燃料电池阴极催化剂的氧还原反应(ORR)活性. 采用乙二醇还原法制备了不同比例的Pd修饰Pt/C催化剂. 透射电镜(TEM)和X射线衍射(XRD)测试结果表明, 制备的催化剂贵金属颗粒粒径主要分布在1.75～2.50 nm之间, 并均匀地分散在碳载体表面. 循环伏安方法(CV)研究表明Pd修饰Pt/C催化剂的电化学活性面积低于传统的Pt/C催化剂. 但通过旋转圆盘电极(RDE)测试研究发现, 制备的催化剂具有比传统Pt/C催化剂高的ORR活性.     

氢钼青铜对铂催化氧还原反应的促进作用

采用循环伏安法在玻碳电极上和硫酸溶液中电沉积制备出铂催化剂(Pt)及铂-氢钼青铜复合催化剂(Pt-HxMoO3), 用旋转圆盘电极研究并比较了它们对硫酸溶液中氧还原反应的催化活性. 研究结果表明, HxMoO3能明显地提高Pt对氧还原反应的电催化活性. 通过对静态电极上氧还原的峰电流与扫描速度的关系以及旋转圆盘电极上氧还原电流与旋转速度的关系的分析发现, HxMoO3提高了铂电极氧还原反应电荷传递步骤的传递系数, 因此加快了氧还原的动力学过程.     

Pt/C催化剂氧还原反应的交流阻抗动态研究

本文通过RDE和EIS联合技术、等效电路模型,研究了酸性体系中商业Pt/C催化剂ORR行为. 研究发现Pt/C动态界面包括两个彼此独立的过程：1）Pt表面原有PtO还原至Pt过程,2）ORR促进新PtO形成过程,为催化材料稳定性及活化性提供了关键依据;并发现动态界面促进多孔电极重构以及与传输匹配过程.在高过电位下,ORR的高反应速率可通过增加催化材料憎水性予以改善. 上述研究结果可对ORR的直流电化学研究进行有效补充,并提供建模基础.     

Electrochemical performance of annealed cobalt-benzotriazole/CNTs catalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction

One of the major limitations yet to the global implementation of polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) is the cathode catalyst. The development of efficient platinum-free catalysts is the key issue to solve the problem of slow kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and high cost. We report a promising catalyst for ORR prepared through the annealing treatment under inert conditions of the cobalt-benzotriazole (Co-BTA) complex supported on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The N-rich benzotriazole precursor was chosen based on its ability to complex Co(II) ions and generate under annealing highly reactive radicals able to tune the physicochemical properties of CNTs. X-Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to follow the surface structure changes and highlight the active electrocatalytic sites towards the ORR. To achieve further evaluation of the catalysts in acidic medium, voltamperometry, rotating disk electrode (RDE), rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) and half-cell measurements were performed. The resulting catalysts (Co/N/CNTs) all show catalytic activity towards the ORR, the most active one resulting from annealing at 700 °C. The overall electron transfer number for the catalyzed ORR was determined to be ～3.7 with no change upon the catalyst loading, suggesting that the ORR was dominated by a 4e(-) transfer process. The results indicate a promising alternative cathode catalyst for ORR in fuel cells, although its performance is still lower (overpotential around 110 mV evaluated by RDE and RRDE) than the reference Pt/C catalyst.     

纳米碳管作为氧扩散电极催化层第二相碳载体的电极特性

A novel gas diffusion electrode using binary carbon supports (carbon nanotubes and active carbon) as the catalyst layer was prepared. The electrochemical properties for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline electrolyte were investigated by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results show that the binary-support electrode exhibits higher electrocatalytic activity than the single-support electrode, and the best performance is obtained when the mass ratio of carbon nanotubes and activated carbon is 50 ∶50. The results from their electrode kinetic parameters indicate that the introduction of carbon nanotubes as a secondary support provides high accessible surface area, good electronic conductivity and fast ORR kinetics. The electrocatalytic activity of binary-support electrodes is obviously improved by the deposition of Pt nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes, even at very low Pt loading (45.7 μg/cm2). In addition, the EIS analysis results show that the process of ORR may be controlled by diffusion of oxygen in the thin film for binary-support electrodes with or without Pt catalyst.     

In-Situ Electrodeposition of Rhodium nanoparticles Anchored on Reduced Graphene Oxide nanosheets as an Efficient Oxygen Reduction Electrocatalyst

A simple, versatile, and cost-effective one-pot electrochemical deposition is used to fabricate rhodium (Rh) nanoparticles decorated surface of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) functionalized glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in alkaline media. The chemical and physical structure of the sample is probed via transmission electron microscopy, rotating disk electrode (RDE), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, linear sweep voltammetry, and Raman spectroscopy. The synergistic effects between the unique properties of Rh nanoparticles and rGO creates such innovative hybrid that exhibits a catalytic activity comparable to that of the commercial platinum electrocatalyst (Pt/C). As a result, the as-electrodeposited Rh@rGO hybrid exhibits outstanding ORR activity in alkaline media, as evidenced by a larger diffusion-limited current, greater positive onset potential, much better stability and methanol tolerance than Pt/C under the same conditions.     

不同结构及氮掺杂NiO/rGO氧还原催化剂的制备与性能研究

本文以还原氧化石墨烯（rGO）为载体制备了片状NiO/rGO和球形NiO/N-rGO结构的氧还原催化剂. 通过X-射线衍射（XRD）、Raman（拉曼）测试、X-射线光电子能谱（XPS）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）和透射电子显微镜（TEM）等方法表征了两种催化剂的结构和形貌. 采用循环伏安法（CV）、Tafel曲线、线性扫描伏安法（LSV）、旋转圆盘电极（RDE）和旋转环盘电极（RRDE）等技术测试研究了两种催化剂的电化学催化氧还原性能. 研究结果表明,球形NiO/N-rGO催化剂催化氧还原的峰电流密度和起始电位（0.89 V vs. RHE）与商业化的Pt/C（20%）催化剂相近. 旋转圆盘电极（RDE）和旋转环盘电极（RRDE）测试证明,在碱性电解液中NiO/rGO和NiO/N-rGO催化的氧还原反应均主要通过4?鄄电子途径反应途径发生,球形NiO/N-rGO催化剂展现出替代Pt/C基催化剂的潜力.     

The Direct Electron Transfer of Iron‐containing Metal Organic Frameworks (Mil‐100) and Its Catalysis for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction in Room‐Temperature Alkaline Media on a Glass Carbon Electrode

The most common electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are platinum‐based ones. This work demonstrates the performance of iron‐containing metal organic frameworks (MOFs) as non‐platinum‐based nano‐electrocatalysts for ORR in an alkaline medium. As a new non‐platinum catalyst to achieve the active sites for the ORR, Mil‐100 (Fe) nanoparticles were used in aqueous KOH by the rotating‐disk electrode method. The main objectives of this study are the investigations on the electron transfer number (n ), Tafel slope, and catalytic performance. The particles size of the obtained powders is in the nanoscale range (approximately 25 nm). The electron transfer number for the ORR on the surface of iron‐containing catalyst is approximately 4, and the Tafel slope of diffusion‐corrected kinetic current density is ~50.7 mV per decade at low overpotential. This work might extend a new non‐precious‐metal catalyst structure for ORR for use in low‐temperature fuel cells.     

Electrocatalytic Dioxygen Reduction at Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Polyaniline Grafted Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Film

The work details the electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in 0.5 M H₂SO₄ medium on a modified electrode containing a film of polyaniline (PANI) grafted multi‐wall carbon nanotube (MWNT) over the surface of glassy carbon electrode. We have fabricated a novel modified electrode in which conducting polymer is present as connected unit to MWNT. The GC/PANI‐g‐MWNT modified electrode (ME) is fabricated by electrochemical polymerization of a mixture of amine functionalized MWNT and aniline with GC as working electrode. Cyclic voltammetry and amperometry are used to demonstrate the electrocatalytic activity of the GC/PANI‐g‐MWNT‐ME. The GC/PANI‐g‐MWNT‐ME exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic activity for ORR. A more positive onset potential and higher catalytic current for ORR are striking features of GC/PANI‐g‐MWNT‐ME. Rapid and high sensitivity of GC/PANI‐g‐MWNT‐ME to ORR are evident from the higher rate constant (7.92×10² M^?1 s^?1) value for the reduction process. Double potential chronoamperometry and rotating disk and rotating ring‐disk electrode (RRDE) experiments are employed to investigate the kinetic parameters of ORR at this electrode. Results from RDE and RRDE voltammetry demonstrate the involvement of two electron transfer in oxygen reduction to form hydrogen peroxide in acidic media.     

Oxygen reduction reaction on the low index planes of palladium electrodes modified with a monolayer of platinum film

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been studied on the low index planes of Pd modified with a monolayer of Pt (Pt/Pd(hkl)) in 0.1 M HClO₄ with the use of hanging meniscus rotating disk electrode. The activity for ORR on bare Pd(hkl) electrode depends on the surface structure strongly, however, voltammograms of ORR on Pt/Pd(hkl) electrodes do not depend on the crystal orientation. The specific activities of Pt/Pd(hkl) electrodes at 0.90 V (RHE) are higher than that on Pt(1 1 0) which has the highest activity for ORR in the low index planes of Pt. The mass activity on Pt/Pd(hkl) electrode is 7 times as high as a commercial Pt/C catalyst.     

Cu~(2+)对质子交换膜燃料电池氧电极性能的影响

以旋转圆盘电极模拟PEMFC阴极,计时库仑、循环伏安、线性扫描等电化学方法研究Cu2+电解液对碳载铂催化剂电化学活性和氧还原性能的影响.结果表明,在恒电位0.49 V下,Pt/C催化剂活性比表面(ECA)明显减小,此际基底可能发生Cu欠电位沉积,从而掩盖催化剂的活性比表面;数据拟合指明Cu欠电位沉积占据催化剂表面部分氧原子吸附点位,使该点位桥式吸附的氧原子转变为顶式吸附氧原子.     

Platinum free ternary electrocatalysts prepared via organic colloidal method for oxygen reduction

Novel ternary palladium based alloy catalysts, PdFeIr/C, for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) have been successfully prepared via an organic colloid method with ethylene glycol as solvent and sodium citrate as complexing agent. The catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). Electrochemical activity of the catalysts for ORR was evaluated by steady state polarization measurements, which were carried out on an ultra thin layer rotating disk electrode (RDE). Compared to pure Pd/C and Pd₃Fe/C, results showed that the ORR activity of PdFeIr/C was highest, and its methanol tolerance was better than Pt/C catalyst.     

Enhanced oxygen reduction at Pd catalytic nanoparticles dispersed onto heteropolytungstate-assembled poly(diallyldimethylammonium)-functionalized carbon nanotubes

Both Keggin-type phosphotungstic acid (HPW) and Pd are not prominent catalysts towards the oxygen reduction (ORR), but their composite Pd-HPW catalyst produces a significantly higher electrochemical activity for the ORR in acidic media. The novel composite catalyst was synthesized by self-assembly of HPW on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) via the electrostatic attraction between negatively charged HPW and positively charged poly(diallyldimethylammonium (PDDA)-wrapped MWCNTs, followed by dispersion of Pd nanoparticles onto the HPW-PDDA-MWCNT assembly. The as-prepared catalyst was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). TEM images show that Pd nanoparticles were uniformly dispersed on the surface of MWCNTs even when the Pd loading was increased to 60 wt%. Electrochemical activity of the catalysts for the ORR was evaluated by steady state polarization measurements using a rotating disk electrode. Compared with the acid treated MWCNTs, Pd nanoparticles supported on the HPW-assembled MWCNTs show a much higher ORR activity that is comparable to conventional Pt/C catalysts. The high electrocatalytic activities could be related to high dispersion of Pd nanoparticles as well as synergistic effects originating from the high proton conductivity of HPW. The Pd/HPW-PDDA-MWCNTs system as the cathode catalyst in proton exchange membrane fuel cells is demonstrated.     

中空铂镍/三维石墨烯催化剂的制备及电化学性能

采用超声辅助化学法和凝胶化反应相结合的工艺制备了中空铂镍/三维石墨烯电催化剂(PtNi/GCM). 利用X射线粉末衍射仪(XRD)、 X射线光电子能谱仪(XPS)、 扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和透射电子显微镜(TEM)等表征了催化剂的结构、 组成及微观形貌. 采用电化学工作站和旋转圆盘电极测试了催化剂对氧还原反应的电催化活性和稳定性. 结果表明, 铂和镍前驱体的不同摩尔比对催化剂的多孔结构、 粒子形貌和分散状态影响较大, 当摩尔比为1∶1时, 所得三维石墨烯中纳米粒子尺寸均一、 分散均匀. 该PtNi/GCM催化剂对氧还原具有优异的催化活性, 在半波电势(0.494 V)处, 质量比活性和面积比活性分别为1.09 A/mgPt和1.02 mA/cm², 是商业Pt/C的5.4倍和3.5倍(0.20 A/mg_Pt, 0.29 mA/cm²). 同时, 该催化剂还具有很好的稳定性, 循环30000周后, 半波电势降低值是商业铂炭的43.6%.     

Single-wall carbon nanotubes supported platinum nanoparticles with improved electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction

Significant enhancement in the electrocatalytic activity of Pt particles toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) has been achieved by depositing them on a single wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) support. Compared to a commercial Pt/carbon black catalyst, Pt/SWCNT films cast on a rotating disk electrode exhibit a lower onset potential and a higher electron-transfer rate constant for oxygen reduction. Improved stability of the SWCNT support is also confirmed from the minimal change in the oxygen reduction current during repeated cycling over a period of 36 h. These studies open up ways to utilize SWCNT/Pt electrocatalyst as a cathode in the proton-exchange-membrane-based hydrogen and methanol fuel cells.     

Carbon nanotubes as a secondary support of a catalyst layer in a gas diffusion electrode for metal air batteries

In this paper, we report the use of binary carbon supports (carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and active carbon) as a catalyst layer for fabricating gas diffusion electrodes. The electrocatalytic properties for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) were evaluated by polarization curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in an alkaline electrolyte. The binary-support electrode exhibits better performance than the single-support electrode, and the best performance is obtained when the mass ratio of carbon nanotubes and active carbon is 50:50. The results from the electrode kinetic parameters indicate that the introduction of carbon nanotubes as a secondary support provides high accessible surface area, good electronic conductivity, and fast ORR kinetics. Furthermore, the effect of CNT support on the electrocatalytic properties of Pt nanoparticles for binary-support electrodes was also investigated by different loading-reduction methods. The electrocatalytic activity of the binary-support electrodes is improved dramatically by Pt loading on CNT carbon support, even at very low Pt loading. Additionally, the EIS analysis results indicate that the process of ORR may be controlled by diffusion of oxygen in the electrode thin film for binary-support electrodes with or without Pt catalyst.     

钯铁合金催化剂的稳定性

分别在酸性和碱性溶液中, 结合旋转圆盘电极技术和电化学石英晶体微天平技术原位考察了钯铁合金催化剂对氧还原反应催化活性的稳定性. 发现在酸性溶液中, 钯铁合金催化剂对氧还原反应的催化活性不稳定, 原因是钯铁合金催化剂在酸性溶液中发生电化学/化学溶解; 在碱性溶液中, 覆盖在电极表面的钯铁合金催化剂的质量及电化学活性面积在电化学扫描过程中不发生明显变化, 保持对氧还原反应的催化活性, 证明钯铁合金催化剂在碱性介质中非常稳定.     

Optimizing the Size of Platinum Nanoparticles for Enhanced Mass Activity in the Electrochemical Oxygen Reduction Reaction

High oxygen reduction (ORR) activity has been for many years considered as the key to many energy applications. Herein, by combining theory and experiment we prepare Pt nanoparticles with optimal size for the efficient ORR in proton‐exchange‐membrane fuel cells. Optimal nanoparticle sizes are predicted near 1, 2, and 3 nm by computational screening. To corroborate our computational results, we have addressed the challenge of approximately 1 nm sized Pt nanoparticle synthesis with a metal–organic framework (MOF) template approach. The electrocatalyst was characterized by HR‐TEM, XPS, and its ORR activity was measured using a rotating disk electrode setup. The observed mass activities (0.87±0.14 A mg_Pt^?1) are close to the computational prediction (0.99 A mg_Pt^?1). We report the highest to date mass activity among pure Pt catalysts for the ORR within similar size range. The specific and mass activities are twice as high as the Tanaka commercial Pt/C catalysis.     

SC-IrO2NR-carbon hybrid: A catalyst with high electrochemical stability for oxygen reduction

The enhanced electrochemical stability of the synthesized hybrid catalyst has been demonstrated by the introduction of the synergistic effect between carbon powder additive and the prepared catalyst.Single crystal IrO 2 nanorod (SC-IrO 2 NR) catalyst was prepared by a sol-gel method.The structure and performance of the catalyst sample were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD),scanning electron microscope (SEM),transmission electron microscope (TEM),rotating disk electrode (RDE) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements.XRD patterns and TEM images indicate that the catalyst sample has a rutile IrO 2 single crystal nanorod structure.The onset potential for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) of the SC-IrO 2 NR-carbon hybrid catalyst specimen is 0.75 V (vs.RHE) in RDE measurement.CV and RDE test results show that the SC-IrO 2 NR-carbon hybrid catalyst has a better electrochemical stability in comparison with the commercial Pt/C catalyst,with attenuation ratios of 17.67% and 44.60% for the SC-IrO 2 NR-carbon hybrid catalyst and the commercial Pt/C catalyst after 1500 cycles,respectively.Therefore,in terms of stability,the SC-IrO 2 NR-carbon hybrid catalyst has a promising potential in the application of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell.