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Nanosized Rh grown on single-walled carbon nanohorns for efficient methanol oxidation reaction

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Abstract

Reasonable design and controllable synthesis of non-Pt catalysts with high methanol oxidation activity are regarded as a valid way to promote the large-scale commercial applications of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs). Herein, we develop a convenient and cost-effective approach to the successful fabrication of nanosized Rh grown on single-walled carbon nanohorns (Rh/SWCNH) as anode catalysts for DMFCs. The unique architectural configuration endows the as-obtained hybrids with a series of intriguing structural merits, including large specific surface areas, abundant opened holes, optimized electronic structures, homogeneous Rh dispersion, and good electrical conductivity. As a consequence, the resulting Rh/SWCNH catalysts exhibit exceptional electrocatalytic properties in terms of a large electrochemically active surface area of 102.5 m2·g−1, a high mass activity of 784.0 mA·mg−1, as well as reliable long-term durability towards the methanol oxidation reaction in alkaline media, thereby holding great potential as alternatives for commercial Pt/carbon black and Pd/carbon black catalysts.

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摘要

合理设计并可控合成具有高甲醇氧化活性的非铂催化剂是推动直接甲醇燃料电池大规模商业化应用的有效途径之一。在本文中, 我们开发了一种便捷经济的方法成功制备了生长在单壁碳纳米角上的纳米级金属铑 (Rh/SWCNH), 并将其用作直接甲醇燃料电池阳极催化剂。独特的构造赋予了该杂化催化剂一系列有趣的结构优点, 包括大的比表面积, 丰富的开放孔道, 优化的电子结构, 均一的铑分散性和良好的导电性等。因此, 最终得到的Rh/SWCNH催化剂在碱性介质中表现出优异的甲醇氧化电催化性能, 其电化学活性表面积高达102.5 m2 g−1, 质量活性可达784.0 mA mg−1, 并具有可靠的长期耐久性, 在替代商用铂/炭黑及钯/炭黑催化剂方面具有巨大的潜力。

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Acknowledgments

This study was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51802077) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. B210202093).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Mechanics and Materials, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Xiang-Jie Guo, Qi Zhang, Ya-Nan Li, Yang Chen, Lu Yang, Hai-Yan He & Hua-Jie Huang

  2. International Center for Materials Nanoarchitectonics (WPI-MANA), National Institute for Materials Science, Ibaraki, 305-0044, Japan

    Xing-Tao Xu

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  1. Xiang-Jie Guo
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Guo, XJ., Zhang, Q., Li, YN. et al. Nanosized Rh grown on single-walled carbon nanohorns for efficient methanol oxidation reaction. Rare Met. 41, 2108–2117 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12598-021-01882-2

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