We report a simple and environmentally friendly route to prepare platinum/reduced graphene oxide (Pt/rGO) nanocomposites (NCs) with highly reactive MnOx colloids as reducing agents and sacrificial templates. The colloids are obtained by laser ablation of a metallic Mn target in graphene oxide (GO)-containing solution. Structural and morphological investigations of the as-prepared NCs revealed that ultrafine Pt nanoparticles (NPs) with an average size of 1.8 (±0.6) nm are uniformly dispersed on the surfaces of rGO nanosheets. Compared with commercial Pt/C catalysts, Pt/rGO NCs with highly electrochemically active surface areas show remarkably improved catalytic activity and durability toward methanol oxidation. All of these superior characteristics can be attributed to the small particle size and uniform distribution of the Pt NPs, as well as the excellent electrical conductivity and stability of the rGO catalyst support. These findings suggest that Pt/rGO electrocatalysts are promising candidate materials for practical use in fuel cells.
Keywords: electrocatalyst; in situ sacrificial template; laser ablation in liquids; methanol oxidation; ultrafine Pt NPs.