Abstract
We demonstrated highly efficient oxygen reduction catalysts composed of uniform Pt nanoparticles on small, reduced graphene oxides (srGO). The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) size was controlled by applying ultrasonication, and the resultant srGO enabled the morphological control of the Pt nanoparticles. The prepared catalysts provided efficient surface reactions and exhibited large surface areas and high metal dispersions. The resulting Pt/srGO samples exhibited excellent oxygen reduction performance and high stability over 1000 cycles of accelerated durability tests, especially the sample treated with 2 h of sonication. Detailed investigations of the structural and electrochemical properties of the resulting catalysts suggested that both the chemical functionality and electrical conductivity of these samples greatly influence their enhanced oxygen reduction efficiency.
Highlights
Fuel cells are an essential component of highly efficient and clean energy-production technologies
Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising support material that can serve as an electrocatalyst for proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) owing to its abundant surface functional groups, which are chemically active sites that can be used for catalytic reactions and act as anchoring sites for metal nanoparticles
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Summary
Fuel cells are an essential component of highly efficient and clean energy-production technologies. Proton-exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs) have shown great potential for power generation in stationary, mobile, and transportation applications owing to their low temperature, low emissions, rapid start-up time, energy efficiency, and power density [1,2,3]. Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising support material that can serve as an electrocatalyst for PEMFCs owing to its abundant surface functional groups, which are chemically active sites that can be used for catalytic reactions and act as anchoring sites for metal nanoparticles. Excessive amounts of oxygen-containing functional groups can reduce the electrical conductivity and electrochemical stability of these systems, making them susceptible to chemical oxidation and decreasing their long-term durability [1,15,16,17,18,19]. The surface oxygen-containing groups located on the corrugated graphene layers of this material facilitate exfoliation, and its excellent dispersion of metal nanoparticles with a narrow range of sizes allows for its wide application [19,20,21]
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