Self-Supported Defect-Rich Au-Based Nanostructures as Robust Bifunctional Catalysts for the Methanol Oxidation Reaction and Oxygen Reduction Reaction in an Alkaline Medium

Abstract

Recently, alkaline direct methanol fuel cells have made great progress with the development of alkaline electrocatalysis, and a wide variety of catalysts have been explored for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR)and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). However, the slow kinetics of the MOR and ORR remain a great challenge. In this paper, self-supported defect-rich AuCu was obtained by a convenient one-pot strategy. Self-supported AuCu presented a branched, porous nanostructure. The nanobranch consisted of several 13 nm skeletons, which connected in the kink of the structure. Different growth directions co-existed at the kink, and the twin boundaries and dislocations as defects were observed. When the Au-based nanostructure functioned as an electrocatalyst, it showed robust MOR and ORR performance. For the MOR, the forward peak current was 2.68 times greater than that of Au/C; for the ORR, the activity was close to that of Pt/C and significantly better than that of Au/C. In addition, it possessed superior electrochemical stability for MOR and ORR. Finally, an in-depth exploration of the impact of surface defects and electrochemical Cu removal on MOR and ORR activity was carried out to explain the MOR and ORR’s catalytic performance.