Electrocatalytic activity of carbon-supported Pt-Au nanoparticles for methanol electro-oxidation

Pt-modified Au nanoparticles on carbon support were prepared and analyzed as electrocatalysts for methanol electro-oxidation. In this paper, a novel chemical strategy is described for the preparation and characterization of carbon-supported and Pt-modified Au nanoparticles, which were prepared by using a successive reduction process. After preparing Au colloid nanoparticles (∼3.5 nm diameter), Au nanoparticles were supported spontaneously on the surface of carbon black in the aqueous solution. Then a nanoscaled Pt layer was deposited on the surface of carbon-supported Au nanoparticles by the chemical reduction. The structural information and electrocatalytic activities of the Pt-modified Au nanoparticles were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffractometry (XRD) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results indicate that carbon-supported Au nanoparticles were modified with the reduced Pt atoms selectively. The Pt-modified Au nanoparticles showed the higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol electro-oxidation reaction than the commercial one (Johnson-Matthey). The increased electrocatalytic activity might be attributed to the effective surface structure of Pt-modified Au nanoparticles, which have a high utilization of Pt for surface reaction of methanol electro-oxidation.     

Platinum modification of gold and electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene glycol on Pt-modified Au electrodes

The surface modification of gold electrodes with platinum and the electrocatalytic oxidation of ethylene glycol on Pt-modified Au electrodes are investigated by cyclic voltammetry. Platinum modification is performed by the electrochemical deposition of platinum on polycrystalline gold electrodes, and the Pt-modified Au electrodes with different amount of the deposited platinum are used for the ethylene glycol oxidation in alkaline and acidic solutions. It is shown that oxidation potential for the ethylene glycol oxidation on the Pt-modified Au electrodes shifts significantly negative compared with that on Au electrodes, nearly same oxidation potentials as that on Pt electrodes are observed, and peak current density of the ethylene glycol oxidation is dependent on the amounts of the deposited platinum on gold surface, much higher peak current densities than that on Au and Pt electrodes can be obtained. The low oxidation potential and high peak current density indicate the enhanced reactivity of Au electrodes by the platinum modification. The characteristics of the Pt-modified Au electrodes are found to be similar to that of Pt electrodes, and the reactivity of the Pt-modified Au electrodes is mainly attributed to the deposited platinum.     

Electrochemical oxidation of ammonia on carbon-supported bi-metallic PtM (M = Ir, Pd, SnOx) nanoparticles

Ammonia electro-oxidation was studied in alkaline solution on carbon-supported Pt and bimetallic Pt_yM_1−y (M = Pd, Ir, SnO_x and y = 70, 50 at.%) nanoparticles. Catalysts were synthesized using the modified polyol method and deposited on carbon, resulting in 20 wt.% of metal loading. Particle size, structure and surface composition of the particles were investigated using TEM, XRD and XPS. Mean size of PtM bi-metallic nanoparticles varied between 2.0 and 4.7 nm, depending on the second metal (M). XRD revealed the structure of all bi-metallic particles to be face-centered cubic and confirmed alloy formation for Pt_yPd_1−y (y = 70, 50 at.%) and Pt₇Ir₃nanoparticles, as well as partial alloying between Pt and SnO_x. Electrochemical behaviour of ammonia on Pt and PtM nanoparticles is comparable to that expected for bulk Pt and PtM alloys. Addition of Pd to Pt at the nanoscale decreased the onset potential of ammonia oxidation if compared to pure platinum nanoparticles; however stability of the catalyst was poor. For Pt₇(SnO_x)₃, current densities were similar to Pt, whereas catalyst stability against deactivation was improved. It is found that carbon supported Pt₇Ir₃ nanoparticles combine good catalytic activity with enhanced stability for ammonia electro-oxidation. Electronic effect generated between two metals in the bimetallic nanoparticles might be responsible for increase in the catalytic activity of Pd- and Ir-containing catalysts, causing weakening of the adsorption strength of poisonous N_ads intermediate.     

Electro-oxidation of dimethyl ether on Pt/C and PtMe/C catalysts in sulfuric acid

The electro-oxidation of dimethyl ether (DME) on PtMe/Cs (Me = Ru, Sn, Mo, Cr, Ni, Co, and W) and Pt/C electro-catalysts were investigated in an aqueous half-cell, and compared to the methanol oxidation. The addition of a second metal enhanced the tolerance of Pt to the poisonous species during the DME oxidation reaction (DOR). The PtRu/C electro-catalyst showed the best electro-catalytic activity and the highest tolerance to the poisonous species in the low over-potential range (<0.55 V, 50 °C) among the binary electro-catalysts and the Pt/C, but at the higher potential (>ca. 0.55 V, 50 °C), the Pt/C behaved better than PtRu/C. The apparent activation energy for the DOR decreased in the order: PtRu/C (57 kJ mol⁻¹) > Pt₃Sn/C (48 kJ mol⁻¹) ≈ Pt/C (46 kJ mol⁻¹). On the other hand, the activation energy for the MOR showed a different turn, decreased in the following order: Pt/C (43 kJ mol⁻¹) > Pt₃Sn/C (35 kJ mol⁻¹) ≈ PtRu/C (34 kJ mol⁻¹). The temperature dependence of the DOR was greater than that of the oxidation of methanol (MOR) on the PtRu/C.     

A comparative study of TiO2 supported noble metal catalysts for the oxidation of formaldehyde at room temperature

The TiO₂ supported noble metal (Au, Rh, Pd and Pt) catalysts were prepared by impregnation method and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and BET. These catalysts were tested for the catalytic oxidation of formaldehyde (HCHO). It was found that the order of activity was Pt/TiO₂  Rh/TiO₂ > Pd/TiO₂ > Au/TiO₂  TiO₂. HCHO could be completely oxidized into CO₂ and H₂O over Pt/TiO₂ in a gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 50,000 h⁻¹ even at room temperature. In contrast, the other catalysts were much less effective for HCHO oxidation at the same reaction conditions. HCHO conversion to CO₂ was only 20% over the Rh/TiO₂ at 20 °C. The Pd/TiO₂ and Au/TiO₂ showed no activities for HCHO oxidation at 20 °C. The different activities of the noble metals for HCHO oxidation were studied with respect to the behavior of adsorbed species on the catalysts surface at room temperature using in situ DRIFTS. The results show that the activities of the TiO₂ supported Pt, Rh, Pd and Au catalysts for HCHO oxidation are closely related to their capacities for the formation of formate species and the formate decomposition into CO species. Based on in situ DRIFTS studies, a simplified reaction scheme of HCHO oxidation was also proposed.     

Pt-rich shell coated Ni nanoparticles as catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media

The Pt-rich shell coated Ni nanoparticles in size of 8.9–12.1 nm were synthesized by chemical deposition via successive reduction of NiCl₂ and H₂PtCl₆, respectively, in an ethylene glycol solution and characterized by TEM, XPS, ICP–AES, and XRD techniques. The electrochemical evaluation showed that as-prepared core–shell structural nanoparticles, as a catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation in alkaline media, not only exhibited better catalytic activity and resistance to carbonaceous intermediate poison than pure solid Pt nanoparticles but also decreased wastage of expensive Pt.     

Total oxidation of propene and propane over gold–copper oxide on alumina catalysts: Comparison with Pt/Al2O3

Oxidation of propene and propane to CO₂ and H₂O has been studied over Au/Al₂O₃ and two different Au/CuO/Al₂O₃ (4 wt.% Au and 7.4 wt.% Au) catalysts and compared with the catalytic behaviour of Au/Co₃O₄/Al₂O₃ (4.1 wt.% Au) and Pt/Al₂O₃ (4.8 wt.% Pt) catalysts. The various characterization techniques employed (XRD, HRTEM, TPR and DR-UV–vis) revealed the presence of metallic gold, along with a highly dispersed CuO (6 wt.% CuO), or more crystalline CuO phase (12 wt.% CuO).

A higher CuO loading does not significantly influence the catalytic performance of the catalyst in propene oxidation, the gold loading appears to be more important. Moreover, it was found that 7.4Au/CuO/Al₂O₃ is almost as active as Pt/Al₂O₃, whereas Au/Co₃O₄/Al₂O₃ performs less than any of the CuO-containing gold-based catalysts.

The light-off temperature for C₃H₈ oxidation is significantly higher than for C₃H₆. For this reaction the particle size effect appears to prevail over the effect of gold loading. The most active catalysts are 4Au/CuO/Al₂O₃ (gold particles less than 3 nm) and 4Au/Co₃O₄/Al₂O₃ (gold particles less than 5 nm).     

Magnetron sputtering of gold nanoparticles onto WO3 and activated carbon

In this paper we describe the production and investigation of two supported gold catalyst systems prepared by magnetron sputtering: Au on WO₃ and Au on activated carbon. The magnetron sputtering technique entails using an argon plasma to sputter a high purity gold target producing a flux of gold atoms which are deposited onto a constantly tumbling support material. This technique offers a number of advantages over conventional chemical preparation methods. One advantage is the ability to create gold nanoparticles (diameters <3 nm) on unusual support materials, such as WO₃ and carbon, which are generally not accessible using the ubiquitous deposition-precipitation technique. We present data demonstrating the formation of catalytic gold nanoparticles with average diameters of 1.7 nm (Au/C) and 2.1 nm (Au/WO₃), as well as a substantial number of single atom species on the Au/C sample. Prototypical carbon monoxide oxidation (Au/WO₃) and glycerol oxidation (Au/C) reactions were performed in order to gauge the activity of these catalysts. The WO₃ supported catalyst exhibits substantial catalytic activity from room temperature to 135 °C (0.0018–0.082 mol CO/mol Au s) with an activation energy near 23 kJ/mol. The activity of the Au/C catalyst was compared to a Au/C catalyst prepared from a poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) sol. The smaller catalysts prepared by sputtering are more active than the large gold particles prepared using the PVA sol, however the larger gold nanoparticles are substantially more selective towards the production of intermediate products from the oxidation of glycerol.     

Boosting the performance of Pt electro-catalysts toward formic acid electro-oxidation by depositing sub-monolayer Au clusters

CO poisoning is the main obstacle to the application of Pt nanoparticles as anode catalysts in direct formic acid fuel cells (DFAFCs). Significant types of Pt alloys have been investigated, which often demonstrate evidently improved catalytic performance governed by difference mechanisms. By using a well-known electrochemical technique of under potential deposition and in situ redox replacement, sub-monolayer Au clusters are deposited onto Pt nanoparticle surfaces in a highly controlled manner, generating a unique surface alloy structure. Under optimum conditions, the modified Pt nanoparticles can exhibit greatly enhanced specific activity (up to 23-fold increase) at potential of −0.2 V vs. MSE toward formic acid electro-oxidation (FAEO). Interestingly, the mass specific activity can also be improved by a factor of 2.3 at potential of −0.35 V vs. MSE although significant amount of surface Pt atoms are covered by the overlayer Au clusters. The much enhanced catalytic activity can be ascribed to a Pt surface ensemble effect, which induces change of the reaction path. Moreover, the sub-monolayer Au coating on the surface also contributes to the enhanced catalyst durability by inhibiting the Pt oxidation. These results show great potential to rationally design more active and stable nanocatalysts by modifying the Pt surface with otherwise inactive materials.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid using a single layer of gold nanoparticles immobilized on 1,6-hexanedithiol modified gold electrode

This paper describes the electrocatalytic oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) in phosphate buffer solution by the immobilized citrate capped gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on 1,6-hexanedithiol (HDT) modified Au electrode. X-ray photoelectron spectrum (XPS) of HDT suggests that it forms a monolayer on Au surface through one of the two SH groups and the other SH group is pointing away from the electrode surface. The free SH groups of HDT were used to covalently attach colloidal AuNPs. The covalent attachment of AuNPs on HDT monolayer was confirmed from the observed characteristic carboxylate ion stretching modes of citrate attached with AuNPs in the infra-red reflection absorption spectrum (IRRAS) in addition to a higher reductive desorption charges obtained for AuNPs immobilized on HDT modified Au (Au/HDT/AuNPs) electrode in 0.1 M KOH when compared to HDT modified Au (Au/HDT) electrode. The electron transfer reaction of [Fe(CN)₆]^4−/3− was markedly hindered at the HDT modified Au (Au/HDT) electrode while it was restored with a peak separation of 74 mV after the immobilization of AuNPs on Au/HDT (Au/HDT/AuNPs) electrode indicating a good electronic communication between the immobilized AuNPs and the underlying bulk Au electrode through a HDT monolayer. The Cottrell slope obtained from the potential-step chronoamperometric measurements for the reduction of ferricyanide at Au/HDT/AuNPs was higher than that of bare Au electrode indicating the increased effective surface area of AuNPs modified electrode. The Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA) by enhancing the oxidation peak current to more than two times with a 210 mV negative shift in the oxidation potential when compared to a bare Au electrode. The standard heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) calculated for AA oxidation at Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode was 5.4 × 10⁻³ cm s⁻¹. The oxidation peak of AA at Au/HDT/AuNPs electrode was highly stable upon repeated potential cycling. Linear calibration plot was obtained for AA over the concentration range of 1–110 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9950. The detection limit of AA was found to be 1 μM. The common physiological interferents such as glucose, oxalate ions and urea do not show any interference within the detection limit of AA. The selectivity of the AuNPs modified electrode was illustrated by the determination of AA in the presence of uric acid.     

Electrocatalytic applications of a vertical Au nanorod array using ultrathin Pt/Ru/Pt layer-by-layer coatings

This study compared the electro-oxidation of carbon monoxide adlayers formed on a codeposited and a layer-by-layer deposited Pt/Ru thin overlayer on a Au surface. Vertical arrays of smooth and nanoporous Au nanorods were used as a platform for the Pt/Ru overlayer-coating. The vertical arrays of Au nanorods served as high surface area templates, where the surface area could be controlled as a function of the rod length in a given geometrical surface area. A coating of the Au nanorod arrays with Pt/Ru via Cu underpotential deposition (UPD) steps allowed control of the overlayer thickness with an ultrathin film nature. The electronic modification of the Pt overlayer with a Ru underlayer became increasingly weaker with increasing Pt overlayer thickness. The thick Pt overlayer exhibited CO electro-oxidation that was similar to the electro-oxidation profile on the Pt bulk surface. Coating of the Au nanorod arrays with Pt/Ru through Cu UPD steps demonstrated an optimal electronic response between the Pt outer overlayer and the underlying Ru layer. It is expected that an ultrathin overlayer-coating strategy can be expanded to nanoporous Au nanorod arrays. These finding will facilitate better design of highly active Pt/Ru composite nanostructures for electrocatalysis.     

Pt修饰的Pd/石墨烯纳米复合材料的制备及对乙二醇氧化反应的电催化活性

以氧化石墨(GO)和Pd(NO₃)₂为原料,通过化学还原法制备Pd纳米粒子-石墨烯(Pd/G)纳米复合材料,然后以H₂PtCl₆作为Pt前体,在Pd纳米粒子的表面恒电位沉积Pt,制备不同Pt负载量的Pd/G(Pt-Pd/G)电极.利用场发射扫描电镜(FE-SEM)、透射电镜(TEM)和X射线能谱仪(EDX)对材料的微观结构进行了表征和分析.结果显示石墨烯上的金属粒子分散均匀,平均粒径约7.2nm.电化学测试结果显示Pt-Pd/G电极对乙二醇电化学氧化反应具有良好的催化性能.当纳米粒子的Pt:Pd原子百分比为1:42时,其反应峰电流密度分别为Pd/G和Pt/G电极的3.0倍和2.7倍.少量的Pt沉淀可显著改进Pd/G电极的催化活性.本研究采用的修饰方法简单,修饰效果明显,可应用于其他金属纳米复合材料的异金属修饰.     

Efficient usage of highly dispersed Pt on carbon nanotubes for electrode catalysts of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

A Pt-deposited carbon nanotube (CNT) shows higher performance than a commercial Pt-deposited carbon black (CB) with reducing 60% Pt load per electrode area in polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) below 500 mA/cm². K₂PtCl₄ and H₂PtCl₆·6(H₂O) are used for the Pt deposition onto multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs), which are produced by the catalytic decomposition of hydrocarbons. The electric power densities produced using the Pt/CNT electrodes are greater than that of the Pt/CB by a factor of two to four on the basis of the Pt load per power. CNTs are thus found to be a good support of Pt particles for PEFC electrodes. TEM images show 2–4-nm Pt nanoparticles dispersed on the CNT surfaces. These high performances are considered to be due to the efficient formation of the triple-phase boundaries of gas–electrode–electrolyte. The mechanisms of Pt deposition are discussed for these Pt-deposited CNTs.     

Pt and Pd decorated Au nanowires: Extremely high activity of ethanol oxidation in alkaline media

Highly ordered Pt and Pd decorated Au nanowire arrays, Pt/Au NWA and Pd/Au NWA, are prepared by anodized aluminum oxide (AAO) template based electrodeposition combined with chemical reduction. The effect of shell material on the ethanol oxidation currents is studied. The maximum current densities are several times higher on the modified electrodes than on the unmodified Pt (Pd) NWA. The most highly active electrode shows almost 4-fold increase in the ethanol peak current. Pt/Au and Pd/Au NWA electrodes show a similar dependence of the ethanol oxidation current density on the Pd or Pt deposition time, which most likely, reflects the optimal upper layer thickness. The synergistic effect between substrate and deposit materials seems to be the most important factor explaining such unusually high activity.     

CO Oxidation of Au–Pt Nanostructures: Enhancement of Catalytic Activity of Pt Nanoparticles by Au

The CO oxidation activity of Pt deposited on Ta₂O₅/Ta was studied with various amounts of Au post-deposited on Pt/Ta₂O₅/Ta. For Pt nanoparticles with a mean size of 2–4 nm, an enhancement in the CO oxidation activity with increasing amount of post-deposited Au was found. The mixed Au–Pt nanoparticles with sizes in the range of 2–4 nm exhibited higher stability than the bare Au nanoparticles with a similar size range. In contrast to the results obtained with the Pt nanoparticles, the catalytic activity of a thicker Pt film gradually decreased with increasing amount of Au deposited. Based on the CO desorption experiments, it is suggested that the surface of the catalytically active Au–Pt bimetallic structures consists of both Au and Pt sites.     

Electro-oxidation of methanol on Pt-Rh alloys

Methanol adsorption and electro-oxidation on Pt-Rh alloys have been studied in aqueous 0.5 M H₂SO₄ for a broad range of alloy surface composition including the pure Pt and Rh metals. Adsorption results have been compared with equivalent data obtained for CO and CO₂ adsorption on these alloys. Current densities of continuous methanol oxidation on Pt, Rh and a Pt-Rh alloy with optimum surface molar fraction of Rh have been measured.Although on the pure Pt and Rh metals the methanol adsorption products exhibit similar energetic stability, as judged from the peak potential of electro-desorption, on the Pt-Rh alloys, there is a lowering of the stability. Similar behavior is observed for the CO and CO₂ adsorption products, however, the lowering for methanol is much less than for CO and CO₂. In the case of methanol, the maximum lowering is obtained for a surface molar fraction of Rh equal to ca. 0.65 and it is the same alloy surface composition that results in maximum lowering of the stability of the CO₂ adsorption products, but not of the CO adsorption products (optimal fraction of Rh equal ca. 0.10). Structural similarity of the methanol and the CO₂ adsorption products finds support in similar values of the electrons-per-site parameter obtained.Pt-Rh alloys show insufficient electrode potential improvement over Pt in continuous methanol electro-oxidation due to the susceptibility of Rh to strong poisoning by the methanol adsorption products, which switches off the bi-functional mechanism of methanol electro-oxidation on this alloy. The presence of Rh in the alloy with Pt additionally strongly lowers the methanol electro-oxidation turnover rate of the Pt component.     

Dendrimer templates for heterogeneous catalysts: Bimetallic Pt–Au nanoparticles on oxide supports

Polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers were used to template Pt, Au, and bimetallic Pt–Au dendrimer encapsulated nanoparticles (DENs) in solution. Adjusting the solution pH allowed for slow, spontaneous adsorption of the nanoparticles onto silica, alumina, and titania. After dendrimer removal, the catalysts were characterized with infrared spectroscopy of adsorbed CO and tested with CO oxidation catalysis. Infrared spectroscopy of the monometallic Pt catalysts showed a slight shift in the CO stretching frequency for the different supports. For the bimetallic catalysts, infrared spectra showed CO adsorbed on both Pt and on Au sites. Spectra collected during CO desorption showed substantial interactions between the two bands, confirming the presence of bimetallic particles on all the supports. The bimetallic catalysts were found to be more active than the monometallic catalysts and had lower apparent activation energies. The titania supported Pt–Au catalyst was resistant to deactivation during an extended treatment at 300 °C. Correlations between IR spectra and catalytic activity showed differences between the mono- and bimetallic materials and implicated a bimetallic Pt–Au ensemble at the catalytic active site. This is the first study to show that DENs are appropriate precursors for studying support effects on catalysis by metal nanoparticles, although the magnitude of the effects were small.     

Synthesis and electrocatalytic oxygen reduction activity of graphene-supported Pt3Co and Pt3Cr alloy nanoparticles

Graphene-supported Pt and Pt₃M (M = Co and Cr) alloy nanoparticles are prepared by ethylene glycol reduction method and characterized with X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray diffraction depicted the face-centered cubic structure of Pt in the prepared materials. Electron microscopic images show the high dispersion of metallic nanoparticles on graphene sheets. Electrocatalytic activity and stability of the materials is investigated by rotating-disk electrode voltammetry. Oxygen reduction activity of the Pt₃M/graphene is found to be 3–4 times higher than that of Pt/graphene. In addition, Pt₃M/graphene electrodes exhibited overpotential 45–70 mV lower than that of Pt/graphene. The high catalytic performance of Pt₃M alloys is ascribed to the inhibition of formation of (hydr) oxy species on Pt surface by the alloying elements. The fuel cell performance of the catalysts is tested at 353 K and 1 atm. Maximum power densities of 790, 875, and 985 mW/cm² are observed with graphene-supported Pt, Pt₃Co, and Pt₃Cr cathodes, respectively. The enhanced electrocatalytic performance of the Pt₃M/graphene (M = Co and Cr) compared to that of Pt/graphene makes them a viable alternative to the extant cathodes for energy conversion device applications.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of size-dependent Pt in Pt/MWCNTs nanocomposites for methanol electro-oxidation

A hydrothermal method has been developed to prepare size-controlled Pt nanoparticles dispersed highly on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (Pt/MWCNTs). It was found that the size of Pt nanoparticles was strongly dependent on the solution pH in synthesis. The Pt nanoparticles with mean size of 3.0, 4.2 and 9.1 nm were obtained at pHs 13, 12 and 10 separately. After Pt/MWCNTs composites were fabricated, the different properties of cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry in electro-oxidation of methanol were found. The results showed that the smaller diameter Pt deposited Pt/MWCNTs nanocomposites exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity for methanol oxidation. By characterization of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), size-dependent activities were identified.     

Photocatalytic generation of hydrogen over mesoporous CdS nanoparticle: Effect of particle size, noble metal and support

Mesoporous CdS nanoparticles with an average pore size of 54 Å and a particle size of 4–6 nm have been prepared by template free ultrasonic mediated precipitation at room temperature. The as prepared particles have been characterized by UV–vis spectroscopy, XRD, N₂ adsorption–desorption isotherms, SEM and TEM techniques. The photocatalytic hydrogen production activity for the pure, noble metal loaded and supported mesoporous CdS has been studied. The photocatalytic activity has been compared with bulk and nanosize CdS prepared in our earlier studies. Among the prepared catalysts, Pt metal loaded mesoporous CdS shows highest hydrogen production rate of 1415 μmol/h/0.1 g catalyst. In the case of supported systems, irrespective of the particle size the basic MgO support shows higher activity than alumina support.