Pt based materials are the most efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)in fuel cells.Maximizing the utilization of Pt based materials by modulating their m...Pt based materials are the most efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)in fuel cells.Maximizing the utilization of Pt based materials by modulating their morphologies to expose more active sites is a fundamental objective for the practical application of fuel cells.Herein,we report a new class of hierarchically skeletal Pt-Ni nanocrystals(HSNs)with a multi-layered structure,prepared by an inorganic acid-induced solvothermal method.The addition of H_(2)SO_(4)to the synthetic protocol provides a critical trigger for the successful growth of Pt-Ni nanocrystals with the desired structure.The Pt-Ni HSNs synthesized by this method exhibit enhanced mass activity of 1.25 A mgpt−1 at 0.9 V(versus the reversible hydrogen electrode)towards ORR in 0.1-M HClO_(4),which is superior to that of Pt-Ni multi-branched nanocrystals obtained by the same method in the absence of inorganic acid;it is additionally 8.9-fold higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.Meanwhile,it displays enhanced stability,with only 21.6%mass activity loss after 10,000 cycles(0.6–1.0 V)for ORR.Furthermore,the Pt-Ni HSNs show enhanced activity and anti-toxic ability in CO for MOR.The superb activity of the Pt-Ni HSNs for ORR and MOR is fully attributed to an extensively exposed electrochemical surface area and high intrinsic activity,induced by strain effects,provided by the unique hierarchically skeletal alloy structure.The novel open and hierarchical structure of Pt-Ni alloy provides a promising approach for significant improvements of the activity of Pt based alloy electrocatalysts.展开更多
Combustion synthesis involving metallothermic reduction of Fe2O3 and TiO2 was conducted in the mode of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS)to fabricate FeAl-based composites with dual ceramic phases,TiB2/A...Combustion synthesis involving metallothermic reduction of Fe2O3 and TiO2 was conducted in the mode of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS)to fabricate FeAl-based composites with dual ceramic phases,TiB2/Al2O3 and TiC/Al2O3.The reactant mixture included thermite reagents of 0.6Fe2O3+0.6TiO2+2Al,and elemental Fe,Al,boron,and carbon powders.The formation of xFeAl−0.6TiB2−Al2O3 composites with x=2.0−3.6 and yFeAl−0.6TiC−Al2O3 composites with y=1.8−2.75 was studied.The increase of FeAl causes a decrease in the reaction exothermicity,thus resulting in the existence of flammability limits of x=3.6 and y=2.75 for the SHS reactions.Based on combustion wave kinetics,the activation energies of Ea=97.1 and 101.1 kJ/mol are deduced for the metallothermic SHS reactions.XRD analyses confirm in situ formation of FeAl/TiB2/Al2O3 and FeAl/TiC/Al2O3 composites.SEM micrographs exhibit that FeAl is formed with a dense polycrystalline structure,and the ceramic phases,TiB2,TiC,and Al2O3,are micro-sized discrete particles.The synthesized FeAl−TiB2−Al2O3 and FeAl−TiC−Al2O3 composites exhibit the hardness ranging from 12.8 to 16.6 GPa and fracture toughness from 7.93 to 9.84 MPa·m1/2.展开更多
Graphene aerogels are desirable for energy storage and conversion, as catalysis supports, and as adsorbents for environmental remediation. To produce graphene aerogels with low density, while maintaining high electric...Graphene aerogels are desirable for energy storage and conversion, as catalysis supports, and as adsorbents for environmental remediation. To produce graphene aerogels with low density, while maintaining high electrical conductivity and strong mechanic performance, we synthesized graphene aerogels by the magnesiothermic reduction of a freeze-dried graphene oxide (GO) self-assembly and subsequent etching of the formed MgO in acid solution. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogel samples exhibited densities as low as 1.1 mg·cm^-3. The rGO aerogel was very resilient, exhibiting full recoveryeven after being compressed by strains of up to 80%; its elastic modulus (E) scaled with density (p) as E-p^2. The rGO aerogels also exhibited high conductivities (e.g., 27.7 S·m^-1 at 3.6 mg·cm^-3) and outperformed many rGO aerogels fabricated by other reduction processes. Such outstanding properties were ascribed to the microstructures inherited from the freeze-dried GO self-assembly and the magnesiothermic reduction process.展开更多
文摘Pt based materials are the most efficient electrocatalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)and methanol oxidation reaction(MOR)in fuel cells.Maximizing the utilization of Pt based materials by modulating their morphologies to expose more active sites is a fundamental objective for the practical application of fuel cells.Herein,we report a new class of hierarchically skeletal Pt-Ni nanocrystals(HSNs)with a multi-layered structure,prepared by an inorganic acid-induced solvothermal method.The addition of H_(2)SO_(4)to the synthetic protocol provides a critical trigger for the successful growth of Pt-Ni nanocrystals with the desired structure.The Pt-Ni HSNs synthesized by this method exhibit enhanced mass activity of 1.25 A mgpt−1 at 0.9 V(versus the reversible hydrogen electrode)towards ORR in 0.1-M HClO_(4),which is superior to that of Pt-Ni multi-branched nanocrystals obtained by the same method in the absence of inorganic acid;it is additionally 8.9-fold higher than that of the commercial Pt/C catalyst.Meanwhile,it displays enhanced stability,with only 21.6%mass activity loss after 10,000 cycles(0.6–1.0 V)for ORR.Furthermore,the Pt-Ni HSNs show enhanced activity and anti-toxic ability in CO for MOR.The superb activity of the Pt-Ni HSNs for ORR and MOR is fully attributed to an extensively exposed electrochemical surface area and high intrinsic activity,induced by strain effects,provided by the unique hierarchically skeletal alloy structure.The novel open and hierarchical structure of Pt-Ni alloy provides a promising approach for significant improvements of the activity of Pt based alloy electrocatalysts.
文摘Combustion synthesis involving metallothermic reduction of Fe2O3 and TiO2 was conducted in the mode of self-propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS)to fabricate FeAl-based composites with dual ceramic phases,TiB2/Al2O3 and TiC/Al2O3.The reactant mixture included thermite reagents of 0.6Fe2O3+0.6TiO2+2Al,and elemental Fe,Al,boron,and carbon powders.The formation of xFeAl−0.6TiB2−Al2O3 composites with x=2.0−3.6 and yFeAl−0.6TiC−Al2O3 composites with y=1.8−2.75 was studied.The increase of FeAl causes a decrease in the reaction exothermicity,thus resulting in the existence of flammability limits of x=3.6 and y=2.75 for the SHS reactions.Based on combustion wave kinetics,the activation energies of Ea=97.1 and 101.1 kJ/mol are deduced for the metallothermic SHS reactions.XRD analyses confirm in situ formation of FeAl/TiB2/Al2O3 and FeAl/TiC/Al2O3 composites.SEM micrographs exhibit that FeAl is formed with a dense polycrystalline structure,and the ceramic phases,TiB2,TiC,and Al2O3,are micro-sized discrete particles.The synthesized FeAl−TiB2−Al2O3 and FeAl−TiC−Al2O3 composites exhibit the hardness ranging from 12.8 to 16.6 GPa and fracture toughness from 7.93 to 9.84 MPa·m1/2.
基金This work was supported Foundation for Returned Education of China, Key by the Scientific Research Scholars, the Ministry of Basic Research Projects of Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai (No.11JC1412900), and the National Science Foundation of China program (Nos. 21271140, 51472182).
文摘Graphene aerogels are desirable for energy storage and conversion, as catalysis supports, and as adsorbents for environmental remediation. To produce graphene aerogels with low density, while maintaining high electrical conductivity and strong mechanic performance, we synthesized graphene aerogels by the magnesiothermic reduction of a freeze-dried graphene oxide (GO) self-assembly and subsequent etching of the formed MgO in acid solution. The reduced graphene oxide (rGO) aerogel samples exhibited densities as low as 1.1 mg·cm^-3. The rGO aerogel was very resilient, exhibiting full recoveryeven after being compressed by strains of up to 80%; its elastic modulus (E) scaled with density (p) as E-p^2. The rGO aerogels also exhibited high conductivities (e.g., 27.7 S·m^-1 at 3.6 mg·cm^-3) and outperformed many rGO aerogels fabricated by other reduction processes. Such outstanding properties were ascribed to the microstructures inherited from the freeze-dried GO self-assembly and the magnesiothermic reduction process.