Issue 29, 2019

Particle size-control enables extraordinary activity of ruthenium nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotube catalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

Catalysts with high efficiency for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) play a vital important role in fuel cells and metal–air batteries. Herein, Ru nanoparticles are highly dispersed on functional multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) by a facile impregnation–reduction method. The particle sizes of Ru nanoparticles are simply and effectively adjusted by the concentration of the Ru precursor. Benefiting from the optimal Ru particle size (2.1 nm), a large electrochemically active surface area and fast electron transport, the Ru/MWCNT catalyst shows outstanding ORR activity and durability via a four-electron pathway, producing a diffusion-limited current density of 4.7 mA cm−2 with a half-wave potential of 0.72 V (vs. RHE). Such performance is better than that of a commercial 10 wt% Pt/C catalyst. Density functional theory calculation results reveal that the Oads adsorption on the surface of Ru increases gradually with the addition of the RuOx layer. The Ru/MWCNT catalyst with a particle size of 2.1 nm features appropriate Oads adsorption energy due to the formation of an optimal RuOx/Ru interface for the facilitation of the ORR.

Graphical abstract: Particle size-control enables extraordinary activity of ruthenium nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotube catalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction

  • This article is part of the themed collection: Nanocarbons

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
19 Jun 2019
Accepted
30 Jun 2019
First published
01 Jul 2019

Nanoscale, 2019,11, 13968-13976

Particle size-control enables extraordinary activity of ruthenium nanoparticles/multiwalled carbon nanotube catalysts towards the oxygen reduction reaction

C. Liu, G. Bai, Z. Jiao, B. Lv, Y. Wang, X. Tong and N. Yang, Nanoscale, 2019, 11, 13968 DOI: 10.1039/C9NR05202J

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