碳化钨与蒙脱石纳米复合材料的制备与电催化活性

具有类铂催化性能的碳化钨(WC)催化材料是当前研究的热点与难点. 本文以六氯化钨为钨源, 用剥离后的蒙脱石片层为载体, 将化学浸渍法与原位还原碳化法技术相结合制备了碳化钨与蒙脱石纳米复合材料; 复合材料由碳化钨、碳化二钨(W₂C)和蒙脱石(MMT)组成, 碳化钨呈颗粒状分散或呈层状负载于MMT外表面; 样品的晶相组成与其还原碳化时间有关; 样品的微结构特征与前驱体中钨与蒙脱石的比例有关. 采用三电极体系和循环伏安法测试了样品在酸性溶液中对甲醇的电催化氧化性能, 结果表明, 碳化钨与蒙脱石复合之后对甲醇的电催化性能明显提升, 并具有类铂电催化活性; 当钨与蒙脱石质量比为4 的前驱体经5 h 还原碳化后, 样品中WC占绝对主导, WC和W₂C的质量分数分别为82%和18%, 两者的比值为4.556, 且在MMT外表面形成均匀的负载层. 此时样品的电催化活性最高. 这为制备具有类铂催化活性的高性能碳化钨催化材料奠定了坚实基础.

Preparation and Electrocatalytic Activity of Tungsten Carbide-Montmorillonite Composite

The tungsten carbide catalyst is a hot research topic because its catalytic properties are similar to those of platinum. In this paper, a tungsten carbide-montmorillonite (MMT) nanocomposite was fabricated by combining chemical immersion with reduction and carbonization in situ using tungsten hexachloride as the tungsten source and an exfoliated MMT layer as the support. The crystal phase of the sample is composed of monotungsten carbide (WC), bitungsten carbide (W₂C), and MMT, and tungsten carbide is distributed on the outer surface of MMT with a granular or lamellar manner. The components of the crystal phase of the sample are related to the reduction and carbonization time during preparation. The microstructure of the sample is related to the ratio of tungsten to MMT in the precursor used to prepare the sample. The electrocatalytic activity of the sample for methanol oxidation was measured by cyclic voltammetry with a three-electrode system in acidic solution. The results show that the electrocatalytic activity of the sample is improved by compositing tungsten carbide on the surface of MMT, and the electrocatalytic activity is similar to that of platinum. After 5 h reduction and carbonization, a precursor with a 4:1 ratio of tungsten to MMT transformed into a sample with 82%and 18% of WC and W₂C, respectively (ratio of WC to W₂C 4.556). The WC phase forms a uniform loaded layer on the surface of MMT. The electrocatalytic activity of this sample is the highest of the compositions considered. This outline a method to fabricate a tungsten carbide electrocatalyst with similar electrocatalytic activity to platinum.