Dispersed platinum and tin polyaniline film electrodes for the anodes of the direct methanol fuel cell

To develop better and cheaper electrocatalysts for the oxidation of methanol in direct methanol fuel cells, several combinations of a conductive polymer polyaniline (PANI) and dispersed metal particles such as Pt and Sn were examined. The anodic current for the methanol oxidation (i _MeOH) showing the electrocatalytic activity of Pt particles was remarkably enhanced when the particles were dispersed on PANI films that should provide higher surface areas for the dispersed particles. The activity strongly depended on the morphology and the electric conductivity of the PANI films electropolymerized in five different acid solutions: H₂SO₄, HNO₃, HClO₄, HBF₄, and HCl. The highest activity was achieved using the dispersed Pt particle on PANI film electropolymerized from H₂SO₄ polymerizing solution. In order to reduce the dispersed amount of the expensive Pt particles, other metal particles were pre-dispersed on the PANI film prepared from the H₂SO₄ polymerizing solution, and then Pt particles were dispersed on the film. Among the pre-dispersed metal particles attempted here (Sn, Cu, Cr, Ni, In, Co, Sb, Bi, Pb, and Mn), the highest activity was obtained with Sn particles. When the ratio of dispersed Pt to Sn particles ranges from 32:68 to 100:0, i _MeOH is higher than that measured with the dispersed Pt particle on PANI films without the Sn particles. This means that the dispersed amount of the Pt particles could be reduced by utilizing dispersed Sn particles.     

Single Atom Bi Decorated Copper Alloy Enables C−C Coupling for Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 into C2+ Products**

Single atom alloy (SAA) catalysts have been recently explored for promotion of various heterogeneous catalysis, but it remains unexplored for selective electrocatalytic reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) into multi-carbon (C₂₊) products involving C−C coupling. Herein we report a single-atomic Bi decorated Cu alloy (denoted as BiCu-SAA) electrocatalyst that could effectively modulate selectivity of CO₂ reduction into C₂₊ products instead of previous C₁ ones. The BiCu-SAA catalyst exhibits remarkably superior selectivity of C₂₊ products with optimal Faradaic efficiency (FE) of 73.4 % compared to the pure copper nanoparticle or Bi nanoparticles-decorated Cu nanocomposites, and its structure and performance can be well maintained at current density of 400 mA cm⁻² under the flow cell system. Based on our in situ characterizations and density functional theory calculations, the BiCu-SAA is found to favor the activation of CO₂ and subsequent C−C coupling during the electrocatalytic reaction, as should be responsible for its extraordinary C₂₊ selectivity.     

Mesoporous PtPb Nanosheets as Efficient Electrocatalysts for Hydrogen Evolution and Ethanol Oxidation

Using a one-pot hydrothermal method with ethylenediamine, we have synthesized mesoporous PtPb nanosheets that exhibit exceptional activity in both hydrogen evolution and ethanol oxidation. The resulting PtPb nanosheets have a Pt-enriched structure with up to 80 % atomic content of Pt. The synthetic method generated a significant mesoporous structure, formed through the dissolution of Pb species. These advanced structures enable the mesoporous PtPb nanosheets to achieve a current density of 10 mA cm⁻² with an extreme low overpotential of 21 mV for hydrogen evolution under alkaline conditions. Furthermore, the mesoporous PtPb nanosheets exhibit superior catalytic activity and stability for ethanol oxidation. The highest catalytic current density of PtPb nanosheets is 5.66 times higher than that of commercial Pt/C. This research opens up new possibilities in designing mesoporous, two-dimensional noble-metal-based materials for electrochemical energy conversion with excellent performance.     

调控氧空位实现高比表面积Co3O4纳米片上的产氧反应

Electrochemical water splitting requires efficient water oxidation catalysts to accelerate the sluggish kinetics of water oxidation reaction. Here, we designed an efficient Co₃O₄ electrocatalyst using a pyrolysis strategy for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). Morphological characterization confirmed the ultra-thin structure of nanosheet. Further, the existence of oxygen vacancies was obviously evidenced by the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electron spin resonance spectroscopy. The increased surface area of Co₃O₄ ensures more exposed sites, whereas generated oxygen vacancies on Co₃O₄ surface create more active defects. The two scenarios were beneficial for accelerating the OER across the interface between the anode and electrolyte. As expected, the optimized Co₃O₄ nanosheets can catalyze the OER efficiently with a low overpotential of 310 mV at current density of 10 mA/cm² and remarkable long-term stability in 1.0 mol/L KOH.     

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%.     

直接甲醇燃料电池的耐甲醇阴极电催化剂炭载四羧基酞菁钴的研究

比较了甲醇对Pt/C和炭载四羧基酞菁钴(CoPcTc/C)催化氧还原性能的影响.结果表明,甲醇使Pt/C催化氧还原的性能严重降低,而对经800℃热处理的CoPcTc/C(CoPcTc/C-800)基本没有影响;并且CoPcTc/C-800催化氧还原的性能优于经其它温度热处理的CoPcTc/C,CoPcTc/C-800是一种较好的直接甲醇燃料电池的耐甲醇阴极电催化剂.XPS结果表明,CoPcTc/C-800的活性位可能是含CoN₄结构的物质和零价Co的混合物.     

A novel ball-in-ball hollow oxygen-incorporating cobalt sulfide spheres as high-efficient electrocatalyst for oxygen evolution reaction

Transition-metal chalcogenides with hollow nanostructure,especially cobalt sulfides,are considered as the most pro mising non-precious metal catalysts for oxygen evolution reactio n.However,it is difficult to synthesize oxygen-containing cobalt sulphides with hollow structure due to the different physical/chemical properties between metal sulfides and metal cobalts.Herein,we report a novel oxygencontaining amorphous cobalt sulfide ball-in-ball hollow sphere s(Co-S-O BBHS) synthesized by an anion exchange method.Taking advantage of the ball-in-ball hollow structure,the amorphous Co-S-O BBHS shows supe rior oxygen evolution reaction(OER) electrocatalytic performance with a low overpotentiat of285 mV at 10 mA/cm~2,small Tafel slope of 49.67 mV/dec,high Faraday efficiency of 96%,and satisfied durability.Experiments and DFT calculations demonstrate that the introduction of oxygen and sulfur modulates the electronic structure of Co-S-O BBHS,thus enhancing the adsorption of *0(adsorbed 0 species on catalyst surface) intermediate,which greatly boosts the catalytic activity towards OER.This work provides a new strategy for controllable synthe sis of complex hollow structures of transition-metal chalcogenides for OER.     

碳载PdPb催化剂的制备及对甲酸氧化的电催化性能

采用液相还原共沉积法制备出高活性纳米电催化剂PdPb/C, 研究发现, 碳载Pd催化剂中加入Pb能够提高催化剂对甲酸的电氧化活性, 并改变甲酸氧化的反应机理. 少量Pb的加入能够提高催化剂中活性粒子的分散度, 且大幅度提高催化剂对甲酸氧化的电催化活性. 当催化剂中Pd与Pb的质量比为8: 1时, 对甲酸的电氧化活性最高, 峰电流密度约为Pd/C催化剂上的180%; 而当Pd与Pb的质量比为2: 1时, 催化剂对甲酸氧化的稳定性最好.     

Pd纳米晶的调控合成及其在燃料电池中的应用

贵金属Pd纳米晶体的催化性能与其表面结构有着密切联系。基于目前Pd多面体纳米晶体可控合成技术的发展,Pd纳米晶体催化性能的进一步优化及其在催化领域的应用前景依然广阔。本文主要阐述了关于Pd多面体纳米晶的制备及其作为电催化剂在燃料电池中应用的最新研究进展。在介绍纳米晶体的生长机理及其表面结构与晶体形状的关系之后,重点描述了Pd多面体纳米晶体常见的几种制备方法,概述了Pd多面体纳米晶体作为催化剂在燃料电池阴极和阳极中的应用。最后总结展望了Pd多面体纳米晶体作为催化剂的研究方向及其发展前景。     

高载量PtNi金属间化合物的氧还原电催化性能

采用改进的多元醇法制备了PtNi(原子比1∶1)质量分数为60%的高金属载量碳载PtNi合金(PtNi/C), 通过在450 ℃下退火处理获得了碳载PtNi金属间化合物氧还原电催化剂. 该催化剂对氧还原的质量比活性和面积比活性分别是商业化Pt/C(JM Pt/C)催化剂的1.66和2.3倍; 并且加速耐久性测试后PtNi金属间化合物催化剂的质量比活性仍与Pt/C的初始性能相当, 耐久性得到了大幅提升. PtNi/C金属间化合物催化剂氧还原活性和稳定性的提高归因于PtNi的有序原子排布结构及催化剂表面零价金属含量的提高.