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Electrocatalytic Oxidation of Formic Acid at Pt Modified Electrodes: Substrate Effect of Unsintered Au Nano‐Structure
Author(s) -
Zhou R.,
Yue R.,
Jiang F.,
Du Y.,
Yang P.,
Wang C.,
Xu J.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
fuel cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.485
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1615-6854
pISSN - 1615-6846
DOI - 10.1002/fuce.201200033
Subject(s) - electrode , formic acid , electrochemistry , substrate (aquarium) , materials science , glassy carbon , catalysis , platinum , electrocatalyst , layer (electronics) , inorganic chemistry , cyclic voltammetry , chemical engineering , chemistry , nanotechnology , organic chemistry , engineering , geology , oceanography
A Pt‐modified Au catalyst featured with novel layered structures and ultra‐low Pt loading has been designed and electrochemically fabricated on a glassy carbon (GC) electrode. SEM characterization suggests that as‐formed Pt/Au/GC electrode grows in a Stranski–Krastanov mode, resulting in a nearly ideal layered structure with Au at the inner layer and Pt at the outer layer. The electrocatalytic activity of the synthesized Pt/Au/GC electrode towards formic acid electrooxidation was studied, and comparative experiments with other modified electrodes (i.e., Pt/GC, Pt/Au, and Pt/Pt) were also conducted. As a result, the electrocatalytic activity of the outer‐layered Pt depends significantly on the intrinsic properties of the substrates. The prepared Pt/Au/GC electrode with Au nanoparticles modified GC as the substrate shows remarkable catalytic activity for the formic acid oxidation, much higher than that of its counterparts, Pt/GC, Pt/Au, and Pt/Pt electrodes. Additionally, the measured electrochemical impedance spectra indicate that the charge‐transfer resistance for formic acid electrooxidation on Pt/Au/GC electrode is smaller than that on other Pt modified electrodes.