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Self-assembled platinum nanoparticles on sulfonic acid-grafted graphene as effective electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cells

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Open access
Authors
Lu, J.
Li, Y.
Li, S.
Jiang, San Ping
Date
2016
Type
Journal Article

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Lu, J. and Li, Y. and Li, S. and Jiang, S.P. 2016. Self-assembled platinum nanoparticles on sulfonic acid-grafted graphene as effective electrocatalysts for methanol oxidation in direct methanol fuel cells. Scientific Reports. 6: 21530.
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Scientific Reports
DOI
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Fuels and Energy Technology Institute
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This open access article is distributed under the Creative Commons license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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Abstract

© 2016, Nature Publishing Group. All rights reserved. In this article, sulfonic acid-grafted reduced graphene oxide (S-rGO) were synthesized using a one-pot method under mild conditions, and used as Pt catalyst supports to prepare Pt/S-rGO electrocatalysts through a self-assembly route. The structure, morphologies and physicochemical properties of S-rGO were examined in detail by techniques such as atomic force microscope (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The S-rGO nanosheets show excellent solubility and stability in water and the average particle size of Pt nanoparticles supported on S-rGO is ~3.8 nm with symmetrical and uniform distribution. The electrocatalytic properties of Pt/S-rGO were investigated for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) in direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). In comparison to Pt supported on high surface area Vulcan XC-72 carbon (Pt/VC) and Pt/rGO, the Pt/S-rGO electrocatalyst exhibits a much higher electrocatalytic activity, faster reaction kinetics and a better stability. The results indicate that Pt/S-rGO is a promising and effective electrocatalyst for MOR of DMFCs.