Comparison of Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Pt-Alloy Nanocubes

Authors

Yongan Tang, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA;Department of Chemistry, Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48039, USA;
Lin Dai, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA;
Shouzhong Zou, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, OH 45056, USA;Department of Chemistry, American University, Washington DC 20016, USA;Follow

Corresponding Author

Shouzhong Zou(szou@american.edu)

Abstract

Alloying Pt with the first row non-noble transition metals has been demonstrated to increase the catalytic activity toward oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), which is the cathode reaction of the proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) and metal-air batteries. However, how much the ORR activity improvement comes from the alloying elements remains controversial. In this paper, the nanocubes of PtMn, PtFe, PtCo, and PtNi with the similar size and composition were prepared and their ORR activities were explored, in order to investigate the effects of alloying elements on the catalytic activity. The use of cubic shape particles minimizes the contribution to the activity from particle surface structural difference. The results showed that the ORR activity vs. Pt d-band center plot had a volcano shape and PtCo nanocube is the most active. These observations are in harmony with density functional theory calculations on well-defined surfaces in the framework of the d-band theory.

Graphical Abstract

Keywords

Pt-alloy nanocubes, oxygen reduction reaction, proton exchange membrane fuel cells, d-band theory

DOI Link

https://doi.org/10.13208/j.electrochem.161249

Publication Date

2017-04-28

Online Available Date

2017-02-16

Revised Date

2017-02-15

Received Date

2017-01-17

Recommended Citation

Yongan Tang, Lin Dai, Shouzhong Zou. Comparison of Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Pt-Alloy Nanocubes[J]. Journal of Electrochemistry, 2017 , 23(2): 199-206.
DOI: 10.13208/j.electrochem.161249
Available at: https://jelectrochem.xmu.edu.cn/journal/vol23/iss2/9