Pt-decorated nanoporous gold for glucose electrooxidation in neutral and alkaline solutions

Xiuling Yan,Songzhi Cui,Xingbo Ge

doi:10.1186/1556-276x-6-313

Xiuling Yan, Songzhi Cui + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1186/1556-276x-6-313

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Abstract

Exploiting electrocatalysts with high activity for glucose oxidation is of central importance for practical applications such as glucose fuel cell. Pt-decorated nanoporous gold (NPG-Pt), created by depositing a thin layer of Pt on NPG surface, was proposed as an active electrode for glucose electrooxidation in neutral and alkaline solutions. The structure and surface properties of NPG-Pt were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The electrocatalytic activity toward glucose oxidation in neutral and alkaline solutions was evaluated, which was found to depend strongly on the surface structure of NPG-Pt. A direct glucose fuel cell (DGFC) was performed based on the novel membrane electrode materials. With a low precious metal load of less than 0.3 mg cm-2 Au and 60 μg cm-2 Pt in anode and commercial Pt/C in cathode, the performance of DGFC in alkaline is much better than that in neutral condition.

Highlights

Glucose is widely used in modern life and industry as a nontoxic, inexpensive, and renewable resource
Surface and crystal structure of the nanoporous gold (NPG)-Pt Ptdecorated nanoporous gold (NPG-Pt) samples were fabricated by chemical plating a thin layer of Pt on NPG ligament surfaces
The amount of Pt deposited onto the NPG substrate gradually accumulates with shows the wide scan scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the as prepared NPG-Pt, which exhibits a three-dimensional continuous nanoporous structure, similar to the reported NPG [20]

Summary

Introduction

Glucose is widely used in modern life and industry as a nontoxic, inexpensive, and renewable resource. As one of the most studied electrocatalyst, Pt was found to exhibit considerable activity for glucose oxidation at a negative potential in neutral and alkaline solutions [6]. The fresh NPG exhibits an obvious anodic current rise at approximately 0.4 V and a sharp cathodic peak at approximately 0.05 V for Au surface oxides formation and reduction, respectively, similar to the reported polycrystalline Au electrode in PBS [27].

Results

Conclusion