Restructuring of 4H Phase Au Nanowires and its Catalytic Behavior toward CO Electro-oxidation

Au nanowires in 4H crystalline phase(4H Au NWs)are synthesized by colloid solution methods.The crys-talline phase and surface structure as well as its performance toward electrochemical oxidation of CO be-fore and after removing adsorbed oleylamine molecules(OAs)intro-duced from its synthesis are evaluat-ed by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy(HR-TEM),X-ray diffraction(XRD),underpoten-tial deposition of Pb(Pb-upd)and cyclic voltammetry.Different methods,i.e.acetic acid cleaning,electrochemical oxidation cleaning,and diethylamine replacement,have been tried to remove the adsorbed OAs.For all methods,upon the removal of the adsorbed OAs,the morphology of 4H gold nanoparticles is found to gradually change from nanowires to large dumbbell-shaped nanoparticles,accompanying with a transition from the 4H phase to the face-centered cubic phase.On the other hand,the Pb-upd results show that the sample sur-faces have almost the same facet composition before and after removal of the adsorbed OAs.After electrochemical cleaning with continuous potential scans up to 1.3 V,CO electro-oxida-tion activity of the 4H Au sample is significantly improved.The CO electro-oxidation activi-ty is compared with results on the three basel Au single crystalline surfaces reported in the lit-erature,possible origins for its enhancement are discussed.

Electrochemically-induced highly reactive PdO^(*) interface on modulated mesoporous MOF-derived Co_(3)O_(4) support for selective ethanol electro-oxidation

Herein,Pd nanoparticles loaded Co_(3)O_(4)catalysts(Pd@Co_(3)O_(4))are constructed from zeolitic imidazolate framework-67(ZIF-67)for the ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR).It is demonstrated for the first time that the electrochemical conversion of Co_(3)O_(4)support would result in the charge distribution alignment at the Pd/Co_(3)O_(4)interface and induce the formation of highly reactive Pd-O species(PdO^(*)),which can further catalyze the consequent reactions of the intermediates of the ethanol oxidation.The catalyst,Pd@Co_(3)O_(4)-450,obtained under the optimized conditions exhibits excellent EOR performance with a high mass activity of 590 mA mg-1,prominent operational stability,and extraordinary capability for the electro-oxidation of acetaldehyde intermediates.Importantly,the detailed mechanism investigation reveals that Pd@Co_(3)O_(4)-450 could be benefit to the C-C bond cleavage to promote the desirable C1 pathway for the ethanol oxidation reaction.The present strategy based on the metal-support interaction of the catalyst might provide valuable inspiration for the design of high-performing catalysts for the ethanol oxidation reaction.

Electro-oxidation of Ascorbic Acid on PVP-stabilized Graphene Electrode

Polyvinylpyrrolidone-stabilized graphene（PVP-graphene） was synthesized and investigated as a modifier for the determination of ascorbic acid（AA）. With PVP acting as stabilizer and dispersant, the resulting PVP-graphene material could disperse well into water. And the PVP-graphene modified glassy carbon electrode（PVP-graphene-GCE） showed an obvious electrocatalytical activity toward the oxidation of AA in a phosphate buffer solution（PBS, pH=7.0） with an oxidation potential of AA at 0.052 V vs. AglAgCl（sat. KCl）. The calibration curve for APt was linear in a concentration range from 1.0×10^-5 to 5.0×10^-4 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.9998. And the detection limit was found to be 1 μtmol/L. During the oxidation of AA, the π-π interaction of graphene plane with conjugated hexenoic aeid-lactone in AA molecules might play a key role. As a result, an obvious decrease of overpotential was achieved at such a PVP-graphene electrode through a possible adsorption/enrichment process, which will probably trigger potential applications for the electroanalysis of some aromatic and heterocyclic compounds.

Electro-oxidation process for molybdenum concentrates

Sodium hypochlorite was used to treat the standard molybdenum concentrates; the oxidization conditions for sodium hypochlorite were investigated, and the electro-oxidation process was performed. The results indicate that in the suitable conditions, such as temperature around 25℃, NaCl concentration 4.0mol/L, mass ratio of ore slurry liquid to solid （mL/mS） 20, electric charge per gram Mo 0.522C, pH value of original slurry 8, anodic current density 700A·m-2 （cell potential 2.72.9V）, the Mo leaching rate and the current efficiency reach 98% and 36%, respectively. In order to overcome some shortages of the electro-oxidation process, such as low current efficiency, low Mo concentration in the leaching solution, ultrasonic was adopted to intensify the leaching process. The results show that the Mo leaching rate exceeds 98%, current efficiency increases from 36% to 50% and the Mo concentration in the leaching solution reaches about 60g/L at low mL/mS of 8 and low electric charge of 0.373C.

Self-Decoration of PtNi Alloy Nanoparticles on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for Highly Efficient Methanol Electro-Oxidation

A simple one-pot method was developed to prepare Pt Ni alloy nanoparticles,which can be self-decorated on multiwalled carbon nanotubes in [BMIm][BF4] ionic liquid.The nanohybrids are targeting stable nanocatalysts for fuel cell applications.The sizes of the supported Pt Ni nanoparticles are uniform and as small as 1–2 nm.Pt-to-Ni ratio was controllable by simply selecting a Pt Ni alloy target.The alloy nanoparticles with Pt-to-Ni ratio of 1:1 show high catalytic activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation.The performance is much higher compared with those of both Pt-only nanoparticles and commercial Pt/C catalyst.The electronic structure characterization on the Pt Ni nanoparticles demonstrates that the electrons are transferred from Ni to Pt,which can suppress the CO poisoning effect.

Ru effect on the catalytic performance of Pd@Ru/C catalysts for methanol electro-oxidation

Pd@Ru bimetallic nanoparticles deposited on carbon black electro-catalysts have been fabricated by microwave-assisted polyol reduction method and investigated for methanol electro-oxidation （MEO）. The structure and electro-catalytic properties of the as-prepared catalysts were characterized by XRD, SEM, TEM and cyclic voltammetry （CV） techniques. The results showed that the introduction of Ru element （2-10 wt%） into Pd 20 wt%/C （hereafter, denoted as Pd/C） produced a series of core-shell structured binary catalysts. Pd@Ru 5 wt%/C （hereafter, denoted as Pd@Rus/C） catalyst displayed the highest catalytic activity towards MEO. And the mass activity of Pd@Ru5/C electrode catalyst at E = -0.038 V （vs. Hg/HgO） was 1.42 times higher than that of Pd/C electrode catalyst. In addition, the relationship between the catalytic stability for MEO on Pd@Ru/C catalysts and the value of dbp/dfp （the ratio of MEO peak current density in the negative scan and positive scan） were also investigated. The result demonstrated that Pd@Rus/C offering the smallest value of Jbp/Jfp displayed the best stable catalytic performance.

Carbon nanotubes-Nafion composites as Pt-Ru catalyst support for methanol electro-oxidation in acid media

Carbon nanotubes-Nafion （CNTs-Nation） composites were prepared by impregnated CNTs with Nation in ethanol solution and characterized by FT-IR. Pt-Ru catalysts supported on CNTs-Nafion composites were synthesized by microwave-assisted polyol process. The physical and electrochemical properties of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD）, transmission electron microscope （TEM）, CO stripping voltammetry, cyclic voltammetry （CV） and chronoamperometry （CA）. The results showed that the Nation incorporation in CNTs-Nation composites did not significantly alter the oxygen-containing groups on the CNTs surface. The Pt-Ru catalyst supported on CNTs-Nafion composites with 2 wt% Naton showed good dispersion and the best CO oxidation and methanol electro-oxidation activities.

Solvent effects on Pt-Ru/C catalyst for methanol electro-oxidation

Alloying degree, particle size and the level of dispersion are the key structural parameters of Pt-Ru/C catalyst in fuel cells. Solvent（s） used in the preparation process can affect the particle size and alloying degree of the object substance, which lead to a great positive impact on its properties. In this work, three types of solvents and their mixtures were used in preparation of the Pt-Ru/C catalysts by chemical reduction of metal precursors with sodium borohydride at room temperature. The structure of the catalysts was characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and Transmission electron microscopy （TEM）. The catalytic activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation were studied by Cyclic Voltammetry （CV） and Chronoamperometry （CA）. Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared in H2O or binary solvents of H2O and isopropanol had large particle size and low alloying degree leading to low catalytic activity and less stability in methanol electro-oxidation. When tetrahydrofuran was added to the above solvent systems, Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared had smaller particle size and higher alloying degree which resulted in better catalytic activity, lower onset and peak potentials, compared with the above catalysts. Moreover, the catalyst prepared in ternary solvents of isopropanol, water and tetrahydrofuran had the smallest particle size, and the high alloying degree and the dispersion kept unchanged. Therefore, this kind of catalyst showed the highest catalytic activity and good stability for methanol electro-oxidation.

Activation of commercial Pt/C catalyst toward glucose electro-oxidation by irreversible Bi adsorption

The effect of irreversibly adsorbed Bi on commercial Pt/C catalyst toward glucose electro-oxidation re- action （GOR） in different electrolytes （acidic, neutral, alkaline） is studied. Bi is successfully deposited on Pt/C from Bi3＋ containing acidic solution from 0 to 90% coverage degree. The stability of the Bi layer in acid and alkaline corresponded to previous studies and started to dissolve at 0.7 V and 0.8 V versus re- versible hydrogen electrode （RIIE）, respectively. However, in neutral phosphate buffer the layer showed remarkable stability to at least 1.2V versus RHE. Bi modification at low （20%） and high （80%） coverage showed the highest increase in the activity of Pt/C toward GOR by a factor up to 7 due to the increased poisoning resistance of the modified catalyst. The effect of poisoning was especially reduced at high Bi coverage （80%）, which shows that adsorbate blocked by Bi through the third-body effect is effective. Finally, with or without Bi modification GOR on PtIC was most active in alkaline conditions.

Electro-oxidation treatment of Sn/PANI electrode and electrocatalytic activity of Pt/Sn hydroxide/PANI composite electrodes

After being electro-oxidized by cyclic voltammetry(CV) method in 0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution or in 0.2 mol/L H2O2+0.5 mol/L H2SO4 solution, the Sn/polyaniline (PANI) electrodes were modified with Pt microparticles by pulse galvanostatic method, thus Pt/Sn hydroxide/PANI electrodes were prepared. The electrocatalytic activities of the Pt/Sn/PANI electrode and Pt/Sn hydroxide/PANI electrode for formaldehyde electro-oxidation were investigated by CV method. The effects of deposition charges (Qdep) of PANI, Sn and Pt, scan rate and formaldehyde concentration on the electrocatalytic activity of Pt/Sn hydroxide/PANI electrode were also studied. The results show that the electrocatalytic activities of the Pt/Sn hydroxide/PANI electrodes are much higher than those of the Pt/Sn/PANI electrode.

Catalytic performance of hybrid Pt@ZnO NRs on carbon fibers for methanol electro-oxidation

A novel Pt@ZnO nanorod/carbon fiber （NR/CF） with hierarchical structure was prepared by atomic layer deposition combined with hydrothermal synthesis and magnetron sputtering （MS）. The morphology of Pt changes from nanoparticle to nanorod bundle with controlled thickness of Pt between 10 and 50 nm. Significantly, with the increase of voltage from 0 to 0.6 V （vs. standard calomel electrode）, the prompt photocurrent generated on ZnO NR/CF increases from 0235 to 0.725 mA. Besides, the Pt@ZnO NR/CF exhibited higher electrochemical active surface area （ECSA） value, better methanol oxidation ability and CO tolerance than Pt@CF, which demonstrated the importance of the multifunctional ZnO support. As the thickness of Pt increasing from 10 to 50 rim, the ECSA values were improved proportionally, leading to the improvement of methanol oxidation ability. More importantly, UV radiation increased the density of peak current of Pt@ZnO NR/CF towards methanol oxidation by additional 42.4%, which may be due to the synergy catalysis of UV light and electricity.

Synergistic effect of cobalt and copper on a nickel-based modified graphite electrode during methanol electro-oxidation in NaOH solution

The electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol was studied over Ni, Co and Cu binary or ternary alloys on graphite electrodes in a NaOH solution （0.1 mol/L）. The catalysts were prepared by cycling the graphite electrode in solutions containing Ni, Cu and Co ions at cathodic potentials. The synergistic effects and catalytic activity of the modified electrodes were investigated by cyclic voltammetry （CV）, chronoamperometry CCA） and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）. It was found that, in the presence of methanol, the modified Ni-based ternary alloy electrode （G/NiCuCo） exhibited a significantly higher response for methanol oxidation compared to the other samples. The anodic peak currents showed a linear dependency on the square root of the scan rate, which is a characteristic of a diffusion controlled process. During CA studies, the reaction exhibited Cottrellin behavior and the diffusion coefficient of methanol was determined to be 6.25× 10-6 cm2/s and the catalytic rate constant, K, for methanol oxidation was found to be 40×107 cm3/Cmol.s）. EIS was used to investigate the catalytic oxidation of methanol on the surface of the modified electrode.

Preparation of Platinum Implanted Glassy Carbon Electrode and Electro-oxidation of Formic Acid and Formaldehyde

The glassy carbon substrates were bombarded with 5 X 10(17) ions/cm(2) of platinum. The surface composition of implanted electrode and concentration-depth profiles of various elements were measured by AES. The chemical state of Pt in glassy carbon electrode implanted with platinum (Pt/GC) was detected by X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). The electro-oxidation of HCOOH and HCHO have been investigated on Pt/CC and smooth Pt electrodes. The results show that the platinum implanted into glassy carbon is much more active than the smooth platinum metal for electro-oxidation of HCOOH and HCHO.

Electro-oxidation of mixed reactants of ethanol and formate on Pd/C in alkaline fuel cells

Direct ethanol fuel cells have attracted attention as an alternative energy technology due to several advantages such as high theoretical energy density and abundant supply of ethanol.In spite of the advantages,commercialization of direct ethanol fuel cells is hampered by the relatively low performance caused by its slow oxidation kinetics and difficulty of complete oxidation.In this study,formate,which has relatively faster oxidation kinetics,was mixed with ethanol to compensate the latter’s sluggish kinetics.Effects of p H,concentration,scan rate,and temperature on the mixed reactants oxidation on Pd were investigated by electrochemical experiments such as potential sweep and potentiostatic methods.Furthermore,the potential of the mixed reactants as fuel was evaluated by single cell experiments.As a result,we demonstrate that mixing formate with ethanol results in enhanced power performance in a single cell system.

Easy preparation of multifunctional ternary PdNiP/C catalysts toward enhanced small organic molecule electro-oxidation and hydrogen evolution reactions

The small organic molecule electro-oxidation(OMEO) and the hydrogen evolution(HER) are two important half-reactions in direct liquid fuel cells(DLFCs) and water electrolyzers,respectively,whose performance is largely hindered by the low activity and poor stability of electrocatalysts.Herein,we demonstrate that a simple phosphorization treatment of commercially available palladium-nickel(PdNi) catalysts results in multifunctional ternary palladium nickel phosphide(PdNiP) catalysts,which exhibit substantially enhanced electrocatalytic activity and stability for HER and OMEO of a number of molecules including formic acid,methanol,ethanol,and ethylene glycol,in acidic and/or alkaline media.The improved performance results from the modification of electronic structure of palladium and nickel by the introduced phosphorus and the enhanced corrosion resistance of PdNiP.The simple phosphorization approach reported here allows for mass production of highly-active OMEO and HER electrocatalysts,holding substantial promise for their large-scale application in direct liquid fuel cells and water electrolyzers.

Facile synthesis and enhanced catalytic activity of electrochemically dealloyed platinum–nickel nanoparticles towards formic acid electro-oxidation

To obtain the electrocatalyst with an improved electrocatalytic performance towards formic acid electrooxidation(FAEO), a simple impregnation method is used to prepare Pt3Ni nanoparticles loaded on carbon black, assisted with electrochemically dealloying process. The X-ray powder diffraction(XRD) results as well as transmission electron microscopy(TEM) analysis of as-synthesized electrocatalyst demonstrates that the reduction temperature has a great influence on the FAEO activity of the dealloyed Pt3Ni nanoparticles. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS) analyses confirm the variation in the electronic structure of platinum by incorporation of nickel atoms which reduces chemisorption of toxic carbon monoxide and promotes the dehydrogenation pathway of FAEO. The size of the dealloyed Pt3Ni nanoparticles remains within the range of about 2.7 nm. All electrochemical results illustrate that the performance of the asobtained electrocatalyst towards the FAEO is significantly enhanced. Moreover, the carbon black content,incorporation of Ni atoms, and reduction temperature conditions have been proven to be the key factors for modification of the crystal structure and morphology which leads to enhanced catalytic performance.

A new pathway for formic acid electro-oxidation:The electro-chemically decomposed hydrogen as a reaction intermediate

Formic acid electro-oxidation reaction(FAOR)is generally believed that follows a two-pathway mechanism.Herein,we resorted to in situ electrochemical mass spectrometry and successfully captured the trace of H_(2),as the new intermediate species,during the process of FAOR on both Pt based catalyst and two single atom catalysts(Rh-N-C and Ir-N-C).Inspired by this,we proposed a new reaction path named hydrogen oxidation pathway:at the oxidation potential,formic acid will break the C–H bond and combine with the protons in the solution to form H_(2) species,then hydrogen oxidation reaction(HOR)will occur to generate two protons.This process is accompanied by electron transfer and contributes currently to the whole reaction.

Carbon Nanotubes Supported Pt-Ru-Ni as Methanol Electro-Oxidation Catalyst for Direct Methanol Fuel Cells

Carbon nanotubes （CNTs） supported Pt-Ru and Pt-Ru-Ni catalysts were prepared by chemical reduction of metal precursors with sodium borohydride at room temperature. The crystallographic properties and composition of the catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction （XRD） and energy dispersive X-ray （EDX） analysis, and the catalytic activity and stability for methanol electro-oxidation were measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy （EIS）, linear sweep voltammetries （LSV）, and chronoamperometry （CA）. The results show that the catalysts exhibit face-centered cubic （fcc） structure. The particle size of Pt-Ru-Ni/CNTs catalyst is about 4.8 nm. The catalytic activity and stability of the Pt-Ru-Ni/CNTs catalyst are higher than those of Pt-Ru/CNTs catalyst.

OH regulator of highly dispersed Ru sites on host Pd nanocrystals for selective ethanol electro-oxidation

The ethanol oxidation reaction(EOR)is crucial in direct alcohol fuel cells and chemical production.However,the electro-oxidation of ethanol molecules to produce acetaldehyde and carbon monoxide can poison the active sites of nanocatalysts,resulting in reduced performance and posing challenges in achieving high activity and selectivity for ethanol oxidation.In this study,we employed a dynamic seed-mediated method to precisely modify highly dispersed Ru sites onto well-defined Pd nanocrystals.The oxyphilic Ru sites serve as"OH valves",regulating water dissociation,while the surrounding Pd atomic arrangements control electronic states for the oxidation dehydrogenation of carbonaceous intermediates.Specifically,Ru0.040@Pd nanocubes(Ru:Pd=0.04 at.%),featuring(100)facets in Ru-Pd4 configurations,demonstrate an outstanding mass activity of 6.53 A·mgPd^(-1) in EOR under alkaline conditions,which is 6.05 times higher than that of the commercial Pd/C catalyst(1.08 A·mgPd-1).Through in-situ experiments and theoretical investigations,we elucidate that the hydrophilic Ru atoms significantly promote the dynamic evolution of H_(2)O dissociation into OHads species,while the electron redistribution from Ru to adjacent Pd concurrently adjusts the selective oxidation of C_(2) intermediates.This host-guest interaction accelerates the subsequent oxidation of carbonaceous intermediates(CH_(3)CO_(ads))to acetate,while preventing the formation of toxic*CHx and*CO species,which constitutes the rate-determining step.

Electro-oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in a low-concentrated alkaline electrolyte by enhancing hydroxyl adsorption over a single-atom supported catalyst

Electrocatalytic oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural(HMF)to 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid(FDCA),a sustainable strategy to produce bio-based plastic monomer,is always conducted in a high-concentration alkaline solution(1.0 mol L^(-1)KOH)for high activity.However,such high concentration of alkali poses challenges including HMF degradation and high operation costs associated with product separation.Herein,we report a single-atom-ruthenium supported on Co3O4(Ru1-Co3O4)as a catalyst that works efficiently in a low-concentration alkaline electrolyte(0.1 mol L^(-1)KOH),exhibiting a low potential of 1.191 V versus a reversible hydrogen electrode to achieve 10 m A cm^(-2)in 0.1 mol L^(-1)KOH,which outperforms previous catalysts.Electrochemical studies demonstrate that single-atom-Ru significantly enhances hydroxyl(OH-)adsorption with insufficient OH-supply,thus improving HMF oxidation.To showcase the potential of Ru1-Co3O4catalyst,we demonstrate its high efficiency in a flow reactor under industrially relevant conditions.Eventually,techno-economic analysis shows that substitution of the conventional1.0 mol L^(-1)KOH with 0.1 mol L^(-1)KOH electrolyte may significantly reduce the minimum selling price of FDCA by 21.0%.This work demonstrates an efficient catalyst design for electrooxidation of biomass working without using strong alkaline electrolyte that may contribute to more economic biomass electro-valorization.