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

Autor: Xiu Liang, Guanchen Xu, Dongwei Li, Yuanyuan Tao, Yingzhou Chen, Hongyu Gong, Yong Li, Xifeng Jiang, Na Zhang
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: Nanomaterials
Volume 11
Issue 9
Nanomaterials, Vol 11, Iss 2193, p 2193 (2021)
ISSN: 2079-4991
DOI: 10.3390/nano11092193
Popis: 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.
Databáze: OpenAIRE