摘要
Surfactant removal from the surface of platinum-based nanoparticles prepared using solution-based methods is a prerequisite to realize their high catalytic performance for electrochemical reactions. Herein, we report an effective approach combining acetic acid refluxing with an electrochemical process for the removal of amine- or thiol-based capping agents from the surface of supported-platinum nanoparticles. This strategy involves surfactant protonation by refluxing the supported-platinum particles in acetic acid followed by surfactant removal by subsequent electrochemical treatment at high potential. We demon- strate that this combined activation process is essential to enhance platinum particle performance in catalyzing direct methanol fuel cell reactions, including methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reac- tions. The studies in this work show promise in electrocatalysis applications of solution-based materials synthesis.
Surfactant removal from the surface of platinum-based nanoparticles prepared using solution-based methods is a prerequisite to realize their high catalytic performance for electrochemical reactions. Herein, we report an effective approach combining acetic acid refluxing with an electrochemical process for the removal of amine- or thiol-based capping agents from the surface of supported-platinum nanoparticles. This strategy involves surfactant protonation by refluxing the supported-platinum particles in acetic acid followed by surfactant removal by subsequent electrochemical treatment at high potential. We demon- strate that this combined activation process is essential to enhance platinum particle performance in catalyzing direct methanol fuel cell reactions, including methanol oxidation and oxygen reduction reac- tions. The studies in this work show promise in electrocatalysis applications of solution-based materials synthesis.
