Affiliation:
1. College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
Abstract
The successful commercialization of the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) is inseparable from the development of advanced Pt-based anode catalysts with high electrocatalytic activity and acceptable manufacturing cost. Here, we present a robust bottom-up strategy to anchor ultrasmall Pt nanocrystals with an average diameter of only 2.3 nm onto carbon nanohorn-decorated three-dimensional (3D) graphene networks (Pt/CNH-G) through a controllable self-assembly process. The as-derived 3D Pt/CNH-G catalysts manifest a series of distinctive architectural advantages, such as interconnected porous frameworks, large accessible surface areas, plentiful active cones, highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles, and good electron conductivity. Consequently, the optimized Pt/CNH-G catalyst is endowed with exceptional methanol oxidation properties with a large electrochemical active surface area of 128.6 m2 g-1, a high mass activity of 1626.0 mA mg-1, and excellent long-term stability, which are significantly superior to those of conventional Pt catalysts supported by carbon black, carbon nanotube, carbon nanohorn, and graphene matrices.
Subject
Energy Engineering and Power Technology,Fuel Technology,Nuclear Energy and Engineering,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment