Issue 42, 2018

The in situ growth of ultrathin Fcc-NiPt nanocrystals on graphene for methanol and formic acid oxidation

Abstract

Due to the increasing demand for energy, improving the current density of fuel cells is an urgent issue. Here we report a bifunctional electrocatalyst for fuel cells involving methanol or formic acid oxidation. A nanocomposite consisting of 7.2 nm NiPt nanocrystals, which are grown in situ on graphene nanosheets (NiPt/GN), has been prepared via a solution thermal decomposition method. The NiPt/GN nanocatalyst presents specific activities as high as 41.1 mA cm−2 and 42.9 mA cm−2 for methanol oxidation and formic acid oxidation, respectively, outperforming most reported catalysts. Moreover, it retains 76.3% of this activity after 900 cycles of methanol oxidation. Additionally, in comparison with general NiPt nanoparticles, the NiPt/GN nanocatalyst shows higher electrocatalytic activity in methanol and formic acid oxidation. All these results indicate that ultrathin NiPt nanocrystals grown in situ on graphene nanosheet substrates can significantly improve performance as a bifunctional electrocatalyst.

Graphical abstract: The in situ growth of ultrathin Fcc-NiPt nanocrystals on graphene for methanol and formic acid oxidation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 Aug 2018
Accepted
01 Oct 2018
First published
02 Oct 2018

Dalton Trans., 2018,47, 15131-15140

The in situ growth of ultrathin Fcc-NiPt nanocrystals on graphene for methanol and formic acid oxidation

L. Lin, M. Yuan, Z. Sun, H. Li, C. Nan, G. Sun and S. Ma, Dalton Trans., 2018, 47, 15131 DOI: 10.1039/C8DT03175D

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