Magnet-assisted assembly of 1-dimensional hollow PtCo nanomaterials on an electrode surface

Abstract

In this work, rapid and controllable confinement of one-dimensional (1D) hollow PtCo nanomaterials on an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode surface was simply realized via magnetic attraction. The successful assembly was verified by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry, which showed that a longer exposure time of the electrode to the suspension of these 1D hollow nanomaterials (magnetic suspension) led to a larger amount of attached 1D hollow PtCo nanomaterials. The thus-prepared modified electrode was quite stable and displayed catalytic activity towards oxygen reduction, mainly by a four-electron process, as characterized by rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) experiments. Moreover, the catalytic activity can be tuned by tailoring the exposure time. This simple, rapid and controllable assembly method and excellent electrocatalytic activity of the PtCo hollow nanomaterials will make the thus-prepared modified electrode a potential candidate as an efficient and cheap cathode in low temperature fuel cells.