Air/water interfacial growth of Pt nanothorns anchored in situ on macroscopic freestanding CNT thin film for efficient methanol oxidation

Abstract

As one widely used anode electrocatalyst for alcohol oxidation, Pt nanoparticles have been paid a lot of attention with the aim of improving their catalytic properties by tuning their sizes, morphologies, and components. One-dimensional (1D) Pt nanostructures possess sufficient active crystal lattices and interfacial electron transfer pathways, and usually show excellent catalytic properties. At present, there are still large challenges relating to the controllable synthesis of 1D Pt nanostructures and their effective loading on appropriate supports, which limit the practical catalytic performances of Pt nanoparticles. Herein, one-dimensional Pt nanothorns (NTs) of about 5.9 nm diameter are synthesized via a unique air/water interfacial process and are anchored densely in situ on the surface of supporting carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The resultant macroscopic freestanding CNTs/PtNTs hybrid film with sufficient active sites and a large electrochemical active surface area of 190.5 cm² mg⁻¹ exhibits efficient electrocatalytic ability for methanol oxidation. This interfacial fabrication strategy provides a simple and effective means to prepare a PtNT composite with high catalytic activity and stability, showing good potential for application in flexible alcohol fuel cells.