Electrochemical oxidation of p-nitrophenol using graphene-modified electrodes, and a comparison to the performance of MWNT-based electrodes

The electrochemical oxidation of p-nitrophenol (p-NP) has been studied comparatively on a graphene modified electrode and a multiwall carbon nanotube (MWNT) electrode by using cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. The sensors were fabricated by modifying screen-printed electrodes with graphene and MWNT nanomaterials, respectively, both dispersed in Nafion polymer. p-NP is irreversibly oxidized at +0.9?V (vs. the Ag/AgCl) in solutions of pH 7. The height and potential of the peaks depend on pH in the range from 5 to 11. In acidic media, p-NP yields a well-defined oxidation peak at +0.96?V which gradually increases in height with the concentration of the analyte. In case of differential pulse voltammetry in sulfuric acid solution, the sensitivity is practically the same for both electrodes. The modified electrodes display an unusually wide linear response (from 10???M to 0.62?mM of p-NP), with a detection limit of 0.6???M in case of the graphene electrode, and of 1.3???M in case of the MWNT electrode.

Characterization of carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticles for electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction

In view of the recent finding that the bimetallic AuPt nanoparticles prepared by molecular-capping-based colloidal synthesis and subsequent assembly on carbon black support and thermal activation treatment exhibit alloy properties, which is in sharp contrast to the bimetallic miscibility gap known for the bulk counterparts in a wide composition range, there is a clear need to assess the electrocatalytic properties of the catalysts prepared with different bimetallic composition and different thermal treatment temperatures. This paper reports recent results of such an investigation of the electrocatalytic methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) activities of the carbon-supported AuPt nanoparticle catalysts with different bimetallic composition and thermal treatment temperatures. Au(m)Pt(100)(-)(m) nanoparticles of 2-3 nm core sizes with different atomic compositions ranging from 10% to 90% Au (m = 10 approximately 90) have been synthesized by controlling the feeding of the metal precursors used in the synthesis. The electrocatalytic MOR activities of the carbon-supported AuPt bimetallic catalysts were characterized in alkaline electrolytes. The catalysts with 65% to 85% Au and treated at 500 degrees C were found to exhibit maximum electrocatalytic activities in the alkaline electrolytes. The findings, together with a comparison with some well-documented catalysts as well as recent experimental and theoretical modeling results, have revealed important insights into the participation of CO(ad) and OH(ad) on Au sites in the catalytic reaction of Pt in the AuPt alloys with approximately 75% Au. The insights are useful for understanding the correlation of the bifunctional electrocatalytic activity of the bimetallic nanoparticle catalysts with the bimetallic composition and the thermal treatment temperatures.     

分级结构AgAu纳米合金用于高效电催化乙醇氧化

乙醇由于具有无毒、理论能量密度高、易存储等优点,被广泛用于直接醇类燃料电池研究.乙醇电氧化是直接醇类燃料电池中重要的阳极反应,通常涉及C1和C2反应路径.C1路径中乙醇分子主要转化成二氧化碳,但该过程涉及C-C键断裂,会有COad和CH(x)ad等中间体产生;C2路径中乙醇分子转化成乙醛,最终转化成乙酸或乙酸根.为提升...     

Poly-xanthurenic acid as an efficient mediator for the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH

This paper describes, for the first time, the development of a simple and highly sensitive chemical sensor based on a new electroactive material, electrogenerated in situ from xanthurenic acid on an electrode modified with MWCNT. The modified electrode shows efficient electrocatalytic oxidation activity towards NADH at an applied potential of 0.1 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The kinetic constant, k_kin, for the electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH, evaluated by chronoamperometry and voltammetry using RDE, provided values close to 10⁵ mol^?1 L s^?1.     

A facile preparation of carbon-supported Pd nanoparticles for electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid

A low temperature approach via the complexing of PdCl₂ with EDTA followed by NaBH₄ reduction has been used to prepare Vulcan XC-72 carbon-supported Pd nanoparticles (Pd/C). The mean particle size of the Pd/C catalysts is found to increase from 3.3 to 9.2 nm with heat-treated temperature. TEM images demonstrated that the Pd nanoparticles are well dispersed on the support with a relatively narrow particle size distribution. A correlation between the electrocatalytic activity of formic acid oxidation and particle size of the Pd/C catalysts indicates that the highest activity of formic acid oxidation is found with a Pd mean particle size of ca. 4.7 nm. The preparation method used here is cost-effective and should be easily scaled for industrial production.     

Collisional electrochemistry of laser-ablated gold nanoparticles by electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose

We report the electrochemistry of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs), prepared by Laser Ablation Synthesis in Solution (LASiS), via the electrocatalytic oxidation of glucose upon single nanoparticle collisions at inert microelectrodes. Spherical AuNPs with diameters in the range 20–30 nm, as determined by transmission electron microscopy, were synthesized by LASiS of a gold plate immersed in water. Nanoparticle collisions were electrochemically detected through the AuNP-catalysed oxidation of glucose at carbon fiber microelectrodes in alkaline solution, enabling the electrocatalytic detection of single AuNPs. This approach provides a basis for detecting and understanding the electrocatalytic properties of pristine nanoparticles in aqueous solutions.     

Au-Pd/石墨烯和Au-Pd/碳纳米管催化电化学氧化甲酸（英文）

利用化学还原法合成了石墨烯和碳纳米管负载的Au-Pd纳米粒子.石墨烯负载的Au-Pd纳米粒子(AuPd/G)的粒径远小于碳纳米管负载的Au-Pd纳米粒子(Au-Pd/CNTs)的粒径,且Au-Pd纳米粒子在复合材料上分布均匀.与碳纳米管负载的Au-Pd纳米粒子催化剂相比,石墨烯负载的Au-Pd催化剂对甲酸的催化显示出更好的电催化活性,结果表明作为Au-Pd纳米粒子的基底,石墨烯可以明显提高Au-Pd纳米粒子的电催化活性.在0.1mol/L H_2SO_4中,该纳米修饰电极对甲酸有良好的电催化作用,甲酸在电极上的氧化动力学过程为扩散控制过程.     

可持续固相合成高分散PdAg合金纳米颗粒用于电催化氢氧化和氢析出反应

固相研磨作为一种新型可持续的合成方法,近年来引起了人们广泛关注,为负载型金属合金纳米催化剂的制备提供了新思路.尽管有关合金催化剂研究取得了系列进展,但现有制备方法大多存在操作步骤复杂、形貌难以控制等问题,严重制约了合金催化剂的规模化应用.本文发展了一种可持续化策略,即于室温下在玛瑙研钵中直接研磨合成了一系列高分散在碳载体上的小尺寸PdAg合金纳米颗粒(PdAg/C).此法无需任何溶剂和有机试剂,保证了整个过程简单便捷、绿色环保,同时确保了PdAg合金纳米颗粒表面清洁无污染,利于样品的催化应用.利用TEM,XRD和XPS表征技术对系列PdAg/C样品的组成及形貌进行了深入探究.TEM结果表明,所得催化剂中金属颗粒尺寸较小(4.9±1.03 nm),且高度分散在碳载体表面.XRD结果表明,Pd9Ag1/C,Pd5Ag5/C和Pd1Ag9/C催化剂特征衍射峰位于对应的Pd/C和Ag/C衍射峰之间,且会随着Ag含量的不断增加逐渐向低角度偏移.XPS结果表明,三个催化剂中均存在Pd,Ag两种元素,且随着Ag含量的增加,它们的Pd 3d结合能逐渐正移;而随着Pd含量的不断增加,三样品的Ag 3d结合能逐渐负向偏移.由此可见,采用可持续固相合成法成功制得了碳负载的PdAg合金纳米颗粒.一系列对比实验表明,PdAg合金纳米颗粒的尺寸和分散度显著依赖于NaOH,而与碳载体的形貌、比表面积和类型无明显关系.将系列PdAg/C样品用于碱性电催化氢氧化(HOR)和析氢反应(HER)时,均展现出高的催化性能.其中,Pd9Ag1/C催化性能最佳,在HOR中,质量交换电流密度和面积交换电流密度分别为26.5 A gPd^–1和0.033 mA cmPd^–2;在HER中,电流密度为10 mA cm^–2时所需过电位仅为68 mV;此外,Pd9Ag1/C催化剂经过1000圈CV循环测试后,催化活性未显著衰减,对两个目标反应均展现出优异的电化学稳定性.PdAg/C高催化活性主要归因于两个方面:(1)PdAg合金纳米颗粒表面洁净、尺寸小且分散均匀,能提供大量可利用的活性位点;(2)Pd与Ag之间强的协同与合金效应使得催化剂具有最佳的本征活性.     

Size-controlled synthesis of colloidal platinum nanoparticles and their activity for the electrocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide

Using polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as a stabilizing agent, stable colloidal solutions of platinum nanoparticles of different size distributions have been prepared by reducing H2PtCl6 with hydrogen. The UV-vis adsorption peaks at 258 nm due to the adsorption of Pt(IV) species disappear completely, indicating that the Pt(IV) species has been used up and colloidal Pt has been formed. The electrodes have been prepared from aqueous Pt colloids and glassy carbon (GC). The effect of platinum particle size of Pt/GC catalyst electrode on the electrocatalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide has been investigated. The voltammetry shows that a higher potential is needed for the oxidation of absorbed carbon monoxide with a decrease of the platinum particle size for particle sizes larger than 1 nm. But for particle sizes smaller than 1 nm, the potential remains constant while the activity decreases with decreasing the size. The snowlike, well-dispersed, and highly ordered platinum nanoparticles demonstrate high activity in the oxidation reaction of carbon monoxide. The reason may be due to the geometric structure of platinum nanoparticles.     

Multilayer assemblies of polyelectrolyte-gold nanoparticles for the electrocatalytic oxidation and detection of arsenic(III)

Multilayers of poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA) and citrate capped Au nanoparticles (AuNPs) anchored on sodium 3-mercapto-1-propanesulfonate modified gold electrode by electrostatic layer-by-layer assembly (LbL) technique are shown to be an excellent architecture for the direct electrochemical oxidation of As(III) species. The growth of successive layers in the proposed LbL architecture is followed by atomic force microscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, quartz crystal microbalance with energy dissipation, and electrochemistry. The first bilayer is found to show rather different physico-chemical characteristics as compared to the subsequent bilayers, and this is attributed to the difference in the adsorption environments. The analytical utility of the architecture with five bilayers is exploited for arsenic sensing via the direct electrocatalytic oxidation of As(III), and the detection limit is found to be well below the WHO guidelines of 10ppb. When the non-redox active PDDA is replaced by the redox-active Os(2,2'-bipyridine)(2)Cl-poly(4-vinylpyridine) polyelectrolyte (PVPOs) in the LbL assembly, the performance is found to be inferior, demonstrating that the redox activity of the polyelectrolyte is futile as far as the direct electro-oxidation of As(III) is concerned.     

Palladium nanoparticle decorated carbon ionic liquid electrode for highly efficient electrocatalytic oxidation and determination of hydrazine

In this work arrays of palladium nanoparticles were synthesized on carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) (Pd/CILE), and the electrocatalytic oxidation of hydrazine was investigated using this electrode. Electrochemical oxidation of hydrazine in phosphate buffer (pH 7) was performed using cyclic voltammetry and square wave voltammetric techniques (SWV). Using the proposed electrode, a highly reproducible and well-defined peak was obtained for hydrazine at a very low potential of −0.02 V versus Ag/AgCl. A linear dynamic range of 5-800 μM with an experimental detection limit of 0.82 μM was obtained. These results show that the proposed electrode displays better electrocatalytic activity compared to the previously reported palladium modified electrodes towards oxidation of hydrazine.     

A composite made from palladium nanoparticles and carbon nanofibers for superior electrocatalytic oxidation of formic acid

We report on a novel type of nanocomposite for use in the electrooxidation of formic acid in fuel cells. The material is composed of palladium nanoparticles (Pd-NPs) and carbon nanofibers (CNFs) and was prepared by electrospinning of the precursors Pd(acac)₂ and polyacrylonitrile, respectively, followed by thermal treatment to generate in-situ Pd-NPs that are well dispersed within the CNF framework. The nanocomposite was characterized by TEM, high-resolution TEM, SEM, XRD, Raman spectroscopy, and XPS. The size of the Pd-NPs ranges from 12 to 82 nm, depending on the temperature for carbonization (700–1,000 °C). The length and width of the CNF is in the order of tens of micrometers and 300 to 500 nm, respectively. TEM and XPS studies indicate that the Pd-NPs are firmly embedded in the CNF, resulting in a good electrochemical stability of the composite. The electrocatalytic properties of the composite with respect to the oxidation of formic acid were studied by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. They showed a distinctly improved electrocatalytic activity and stability compared to a commercial Pd-on-carbon catalyst. The Pd/CNF composite carbonized at 900 °C was found to display the best performance.

PtRu nanoparticles supported on 1-aminopyrene-functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes and their electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation

A new synthesis method for the preparation of high-performance PtRu electrocatalysts on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is reported. In this method, bimetallic PtRu electrocatalysts are deposited onto 1-aminopyrene (1-AP)-functionalized MWCNTs by a microwave-assisted polyol process. The noncovalent functionalization of MWCNTs by 1-AP is simple and can be carried out at room temperature without the use of expensive chemicals or corrosive acids, thus preserving the integrity and the electronic structure of MWCNTs. PtRu electrocatalysts on 1-AP-functionalized MWCNTs show much better distribution with no formation of aggregates, higher electrochemically active surface area, and higher electrocatalytic activity for the electrooxidation of methanol in direct methanol fuel cells as compared to that on conventional acid-treated MWCNTs and carbon black supported PtRu electrocatalysts. PtRu electrocatalysts on 1-AP-functionalized MWCNTs also show significantly enhanced stability.     

Polyporous C@WC_(1-x) composite and its electrocatalytic activity for p-nitrophenol reduction

The polyporous carbon supported tungsten carbide(polyporous C@WC_1-x) composite was prepared using hexagonal silica MCM-41 as the hard template by raw material solution impregnation,mechanical milling and simultaneous reduction and carbonization by temperature programming in mixture gas（CH₄/H₂）.The structure and morphology of polyporous C@WC_1-x composite were studied via X-ray diffraction,transmission electron microscopy and so on.The electrocatalytic property was tested for the electroreduction of p-nitrophenol（PNP） in neutral media.Results revealed that the composite is consisted of polyporous carbon and nanocrystalline WC_1-x,possessing good electrocatalytic activity in the reaction of PNP reduction.     

Efficient electrocatalytic oxidation of NADH at gold nanoparticles self-assembled on three-dimensional sol-gel network

It is demonstrated that gold (Au) nanoparticles self-assembled on a sol-gel derived three-dimensional silicate network efficiently catalyze the oxidation of NADH in the absence of any electron transfer mediators with a decrease in overpotential of 780 mV in neutral solution.     

Synthesis of hollow and nanoporous gold/platinum alloy nanoparticles and their electrocatalytic activity for formic acid oxidation

In this work, hollow Au/Pt alloy nanoparticles (NPs) with porous surfaces were synthesized in a two-step procedure. In the first step, tri-component Ag/Au/Pt alloy NPs were synthesized through the galvanic replacement reaction between Ag NPs and aqueous solutions containing a mixture of HAuCl₄ and H₂PtCl₄. In the second step, the Ag component was selectively dealloyed with nitric acid (HNO₃), resulting in hollow di-component Au/Pt alloy NPs with a porous surface morphology. The atomic ratio of Au to Pt in the NPs was easily tunable by controlling the molar ratio of the precursor solution (HAuCl₄ and H₂PtCl₆). Hollow, porous Au/Pt alloy NPs showed enhanced catalytic activity toward formic acid electrooxidation compared to the analogous pure Pt NPs. This improved activity can be attributable to the suppression of CO poisoning via the “ensemble” effect.     

A strategy for the high dispersion of PtRu nanoparticles onto carbon nanotubes and their electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were non-covalently functionalized by 1-pyrenecarboxaldehyde (PCA) via π-π stacking interactions. PCA not only acts as the reductant for the deposition of PtRu nanoparticles, but the oxidation product of PCA can also effectively anchor and stabilize the in-situ-produced PtRu?NPs on the surface of CNTs. Transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that PtRu?NPs are uniformly dispersed on the surface of CNTs with small particles sizes of about 1.7 nm. The obtained PtRu-NP/CNT composites have higher electrochemical surface areas, electrocatalytic activities, and better stability towards methanol oxidation compared to PtRu?NPs supported on pristine CNTs.     

Nanonet-based hematite heteronanostructures for efficient solar water splitting

We report the highest external quantum efficiency measured on hematite (α-Fe(2)O(3)) without intentional doping in a water-splitting environment: 46% at λ = 400 nm. This result was enabled by the introduction of TiSi(2) nanonets, which are highly conductive and have suitably high surface areas. The nanonets serve a dual role as a structural support and an efficient charge collector, allowing for maximum photon-to-charge conversion. Without the addition of any oxygen-evolving catalysts, we obtained photocurrents of 1.6 and 2.7 mA/cm(2) at 1.23 and 1.53 V vs RHE, respectively. These results highlight the importance of charge transport in semiconductor-based water splitting, particularly for materials whose performance is limited by poor charge diffusion. Our design introduces material components to provide a dedicated charge-transport pathway, alleviating the reliance on the materials' intrinsic properties, and therefore has the potential to greatly broaden where and how various existing materials can be used in energy-related applications.