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Porous Trimetallic PtRhCu Cubic Nanoboxes for Ethanol Electrooxidation
Author(s) -
Han ShuHe,
Liu HuiMin,
Chen Pei,
Jiang JiaXing,
Chen Yu
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
advanced energy materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 10.08
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1614-6840
pISSN - 1614-6832
DOI - 10.1002/aenm.201801326
Subject(s) - materials science , electrochemistry , selectivity , galvanic cell , anode , catalysis , porosity , chemical engineering , nanoparticle , ethanol , nanotechnology , electrode , chemistry , metallurgy , organic chemistry , engineering , composite material
Direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFCs) have great activity as a green energy conversion device. However, the weak activity of most anode electrocatalysts for the CC bond cleavage is an obstacle to the DEFCs development. Herein, a simple galvanic replacement reaction strategy to synthesize hollow and porous PtRhCu trimetallic nanoboxes (CNBs) with a tunable Pt/Rh atomic ratio is developed. For the ethanol oxidation reaction (EOR), PtRhCu CNBs show morphology and composition‐dependent electrocatalytic activity. The composition optimized Pt 54 Rh 4 Cu 42 CNBs exhibit excellent specific and mass activity and stability for the EOR, which is attributed to its unique geometric structure and synergistic effects. The hollow porous structure can effectively enhance the atomic utilization and mass transfer. The introduction of Cu improves the antipoisoning capability for CO. The introduction of Rh elevates the self‐stability of PtRhCu CNBs. More importantly, further electrochemical results confirm that the introduction of Rh significantly promotes the cleavage of CC bonds, leading to the transformation of the main catalytic pathway for EOR from C 2 to C 1 pathway. The real concentration detection for C 2 products (CH 3 COOH and CH 3 CHO) shows Pt 54 Rh 4 Cu 42 CNBs have a nearly 11.5‐fold C 1 pathway enhancement compared to Pt nanoparticles, showing an obvious selectivity enhancement for the C 1 pathway.