Facile synthesis of PtAu nanoparticles supported on polydopamine reduced and modified graphene oxide as a highly active catalyst for methanol oxidation. (20th January 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ren, Fangfang; Zhai, Chunyang; Zhu, Mingshan; Wang, Caiqin; Wang, Huiwen; Bin, Duan; Guo, Jun; Yang, Ping; Du, Yukou
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 153(2015)
• Page Start: 175
• Page End: 183
• Publication Date: 2015-01-20
• Subjects: Graphene -- Polydopamine -- Pt–Au nanoparticles -- Electrocatalytic oxidation -- Methanol; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2014.11.184
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Graphical abstract: A facile and clean method for the synthesis of PtAu nanoparticles with different Pt/Au ratios supported on polydopamine reduced and modified graphene oxide (PtAu/PDA-RGO) is reported, which exhibit higher electro-catalytic performance and stability towards methanol oxidation in alkaline medium. Highlights: GO could be reduced and modified simultaneously by PDA without using reducing agents. PDA plays an important role in enhancing the dispersion and stability of the catalyst. The bimetallic PtAu/PDA-RGO catalysts exhibits higher catalytic activity than the monometallic Pt/PDA-RGO toward MOR. The PtAu(3:1)/PDA-RGO catalyst also shows better catalytic activity for MOR than PtAu(3:1)/RGO and PtAu(3:1)/C catalysts. Abstract: In this paper, a facile strategy for the synthesis of PtAu nanoparticles (NPs) with different Pt/Au ratios supported on polydopamine reduced and modified graphene oxide (PtAu/PDA-RGO) is reported. The as-prepared PtAu/PDA-RGO composites were extensively analyzed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution TEM (HRTEM), Raman spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electrochemical measurements. It is found that PDA plays an important role in enhancing the dispersion and stability of the catalyst. Moreover, the bimetallic PtAu/PDA-RGO catalysts exhibits higher catalytic activity than the monometallic Pt/PDA-RGO toward methanol oxidation reaction (MOR), with the best performance found for the Pt/Au molar ratio of 3/1. The PtAu(3:1)/PDA-RGO catalyst also shows better catalytic activity for MOR than PtAu(3:1)/RGO and PtAu(3:1)/C catalysts, suggesting that PDA-RGO can be a promising catalyst support for fuel cells. These findings also indicate that the molar ratios of Pt/Au and the catalyst support are the two critical factors to affect the overall performance of the catalyst.