Article Title

One-pot synthesis of Au@Pt star-like nanocrystals and their enhanced electrocatalytic performance for formic acid and ethanol oxidation

Authors

Yi Peng, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA
Lidong Li, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Ran Tao, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Lingyu Tan, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Mengna Qiu, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China
Lin Guo, Key Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Environment, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China

Keywords

Au@Pt core-shell nanocrystals, electrocatalyst, formic acid, ethanol, oxidation

Abstract

ABSTRACT The current bottleneck facing further developments in fuel cells is the lack of durable electrocatalysts with satisfactory activity. In this study, a simple and fast one-pot wet-chemical method is proposed to synthesize novel Au@Pt star-like bimetallic nanocrystals (Au@Pt SLNCs) with a low Pt/Au ratio of 1:4, which show great electrocatalytic properties and outstanding stability toward the electro-oxidation reactions commonly found in fuel cells. The star-like Au core (90 ± 20 nm) is partially coated with 5 nm Pt nanocluster shells, a morphology which creates a large amount of boundaries and edges, thus tuning the surface electronic structure as demonstrated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and CO-stripping measurements. This promotes excellent electrocatalytic performance towards the formic acid oxidation reaction in acidic media and the ethanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media, compared to commercial Pt or Au@Pt triangular nanoprisms, in which the Au core is fully coated by a Pt shell. Au@Pt SLNCs have the highest current density within the dehydrogenation potential range, needing the least potential to achieve a certain current density as well as the highest long-term stability. Because of the small amount of Pt usage, very fast synthesis, excellent electrocatalytic activity and durability, the proposed Au@Pt SLNCs have a promising practical application in fuel cells.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-017-1851-5

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Yi Peng,Lidong Li,Ran Tao,Lingyu Tan,Mengna Qiu,Lin Guo, One-pot synthesis of Au@Pt star-like nanocrystals and their enhanced electrocatalytic performance for formic acid and ethanol oxidation. NanoRes.2018, 11(6): 3222–3232