Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of Pd-Pt/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites for enhanced electro-oxidation of ethanol and methanol in alkaline medium

Guohai Yang; Yazhou Zhou; Horng-Bin Pan; Chengzhou Zhu; Shaofang Fu; Chien M Wai; Dan Du; Jun-Jie Zhu; Yuehe Lin

doi:10.1016/j.ultsonch.2015.07.021

Ultrasonic-assisted synthesis of Pd-Pt/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites for enhanced electro-oxidation of ethanol and methanol in alkaline medium

Ultrason Sonochem. 2016 Jan:28:192-198. doi: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2015.07.021. Epub 2015 Jul 21.

Authors

Guohai Yang¹, Yazhou Zhou², Horng-Bin Pan³, Chengzhou Zhu², Shaofang Fu², Chien M Wai³, Dan Du², Jun-Jie Zhu⁴, Yuehe Lin⁵

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Collaborative Innovation of Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, PR China; School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
² School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Life Science, Collaborative Innovation of Chemistry for Life Science, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, PR China. Electronic address: jjzhu@nju.edu.cn.
⁵ School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164, USA; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA. Electronic address: yuehe.lin@wsu.edu.

PMID: 26384899
DOI: 10.1016/j.ultsonch.2015.07.021

Abstract

Herein, a facile ultrasonic-assisted strategy was proposed to fabricate the Pd-Pt alloy/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Pd-Pt/CNTs) nanocomposites. A good number of Pd-Pt alloy nanoparticles with an average of 3.4 ± 0.5 nm were supported on sidewalls of CNTs with uniform distribution. The composition of the Pd-Pt/CNTs nanocomposites could also be easily controlled, which provided a possible approach for the preparation of other architectures with anticipated properties. The Pd-Pt/CNTs nanocomposites were extensively studied by electron microscopy, induced coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and applied for the ethanol and methanol electro-oxidation reaction in alkaline medium. The electrochemical results indicated that the nanocomposites had better electrocatalytic activities and stabilities, showing promising applications for fuel cells.

Keywords: Carbon nanotubes; Ethanol oxidation reaction; Methanol oxidation reaction; Pd–Pt alloy; Ultrasonic.

Publication types

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