Multifunctional Pt3Rh-Co3O4 alloy nanoparticles with Pt-enriched surface and induced synergistic effect for improved performance in ORR, OER, and HER

Narayanamoorthy Bhuvanendran; Chae Won Park; Huaneng Su; Sae Youn Lee

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2023.115950

Multifunctional Pt₃Rh-Co₃O₄ alloy nanoparticles with Pt-enriched surface and induced synergistic effect for improved performance in ORR, OER, and HER

Environ Res. 2023 Jul 15:229:115950. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115950. Epub 2023 Apr 19.

Authors

Narayanamoorthy Bhuvanendran¹, Chae Won Park², Huaneng Su³, Sae Youn Lee⁴

Affiliations

¹ Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul, 04620, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Advanced Battery Convergence Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea.
³ Institute for Energy Research, Jiangsu University, 301 Xuefu Road, Zhenjiang, 212013, China.
⁴ Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul, 04620, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: saeyounlee@dongguk.edu.

PMID: 37084945
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.115950

Abstract

Engineering high-performance electrocatalysts to improve the kinetics of parallel electrochemical reactions in low-temperature fuel cells, water splitting, and metal-air battery applications is important and inevitable. In this study, by employing a chemical co-reduction method, we developed multifunctional Pt₃Rh-Co₃O₄ alloy with uniformly distributed ultrafine nanoparticles (2-3 nm), supported on carbon. The presence of Co₃O₄ and the incorporation of Rh led to a strong electronic and ligand effect in the Pt lattice environment, which caused the d-band center of Pt to shift. This shift improved the electrocatalytic performance of Pt₃Rh-Co₃O₄ alloy. When Pt₃Rh-Co₃O₄/C was used to catalyze the oxygen reduction reaction (E_1/2: 0.75 V), oxygen evolution reaction (η₁₀: 290 mV), and hydrogen evolution reaction (η₁₀: 55 mV), it showed greater endurance (mass activity loss of only 7%-17%) than Pt-Co₃O₄/C and Pt/C catalysts up to 5000 potential cycles in perchloric acid. Overall, the as-prepared Pt₃Rh-Co₃O₄/C showed high multifunctional electrocatalytic potency, as demonstrated by typical electrochemical studies, and its physicochemical properties endorse their extended performance for a wide range of energy storage and conversion applications.

Keywords: Co(3)O(4) spinel oxide; HER; Multifunctional activity; OER; ORR; Pt–Rh.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alloys*
Carbon
Nanoparticles*
Oxygen

Substances

Alloys
cobalt tetraoxide
Carbon
Oxygen