Few-layered nitrogen-doped graphene wrapped three-dimensional titanium oxide flower as a robust support for Pt nanoparticles in catalyzing oxygen reduction reaction

Abstract

• Few-layered nitrogen-doped graphene wrapped 3D flower-like TiO 2 is synthesized. • The anti-corrosion support has a high surface area and electronic conductivity. • Pt-TiO 2 @N-Gr-800 exhibits superior ORR activity, stability, and CO tolerance. • Pt-TiO 2 @N-Gr-800 shows a strong metal and support interaction. Carbon materials are commonly used as electrocatalyst supports in fuel cells. Nevertheless, carbon corrosion is a severe concern under strong acidic and oxidizing environments. Hence, developing a robust catalyst support is critical to ensuring fuel cells stability. Herein, we report a unique support of few-layered nitrogen-doped graphene wrapped three-dimensional (3D) flower-like anatase TiO 2 (TiO 2 @N-Gr) via in-situ polymerizing dopamine on the surface of a 3D-TiO 2 flower precursor, followed by pyrolysis. After loading Pt nanoparticles, Pt-TiO 2 @N-Gr-800 exhibits comparable ORR activity to the commercial Pt/C catalyst (E 1/2 = 0.91 V RHE ), superior stability in a 30 K cycling stability test and strong CO resistance capability. The outstanding performance of the Pt-TiO 2 @N-Gr-800 catalyst is attributed to the strong anti-corrosion property and high electronic conductivity of the nanocomposite support, as well as a strong metal and support interaction. The unique flower-like scaffold is also of great advantage for mass transfer. This work provides a facile strategy to synthesize robust nanocomposite supports for fuel cells.