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Article
Exfoliated Graphene-Supported Pt and Pt-Based Alloys as Electrocatalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells
Carbon
  • Wen Qian, Portland State University
  • Rui Hau, Peking University
  • Jian Zhou, Peking University
  • Micah C. Eastman, Portland State University
  • Beth Ann Manhat, Portland State University
  • Quang Sun, Peking University
  • Andrea M. Goforth, Portland State University
  • Jun Jiao, Portland State University
Document Type
Citation
Publication Date
1-1-2013
Subjects
  • Nanocrytals -- research
Disciplines
Abstract

To greatly improve the electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation, high-quality exfoliated graphene decorated with uniform Pt nanocrystals (NCs) (3 nm) have been prepared by a very simple, low-cost and environmentally benign process. During the entire process, no surfactant and no halide ions were involved, which not only enabled very clean surface of Pt/graphene leading to excellent conductivity, but also greatly improved the electrocatalyst tolerance to carbon monoxide poisoning (Pt/graphene, If/Ib = 1.197), compared to commercial Pt/C (If/Ib = 0.893) catalysts. To maximize the electrocatalytic performance and minimize the amount of precious Pt, Pt–M/graphene (M = Pd, Co) hybrids have also been prepared, and these hybrids have much larger electrochemically active surface areas (ECSA), which are 4 (PtPd/graphene) and 3.3 (PtCo/graphene) times those of commercial Pt/C. The PtPd/graphene and PtCo/graphene hybrids also have remarkably increased activity toward methanol oxidation (If/Ib = 1.218 and 1.558). Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) simulations demonstrate that an electronic interaction occurred between Pt atoms and graphene, indicating that graphene substrate plays a crucial role in regulating the electron structure of attached Pt atom, which confirmed that the increased efficiency of methanol oxidation was due to the synergetic effects of the hybrid structure.

Rights

Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI
10.1016/j.carbon.2012.10.031
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/34578
Citation Information
Qian, W., Hao, R., Zhou, J., Eastman, M., Manhat, B. A., Sun, Q., ... & Jiao, J. (2013). Exfoliated graphene-supported Pt and Pt-based alloys as electrocatalysts for direct methanol fuel cells. Carbon, 52, 595-604.