Light doping of tungsten into copper-platinum nanoalloys for boosting their electrocatalytic performance in methanol oxidation

• Published in: Nano Research Energy Vol. 1; no. 2; p. e9120017
• Main Authors: Liu, Danye, Zeng, Qing, Hu, Chaoquan, Chen, Dong, Liu, Hui, Han, Yongsheng, Xu, Lin, Zhang, Qingbo, Yang, Jun
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tsinghua University Press 01-09-2022
• Subjects: d-band center; electrocatalysis; hydrogen spillover; lattice strain; methanol oxidation reaction
• ISSN: 2791-0091; 2790-8119
• DOI: 10.26599/NRE.2022.9120017

Coupling the bi-functional mechanism with compressive lattice strain might be an effective way to boost the electrocatalysis of platinum (Pt)-based nanoparticles for methanol oxidation reaction (MOR). This strategy weakens the chemisorption of poisoning CO-like intermediates generated during MOR on the active Pt sites by lowering their d-band center. In this context, we herein report the synthesis of ternary copper-tungsten-platinum (CuWPt) nanoalloys with light doping of W element by simply co-reducing their precursors at elevated temperature. In this ternary alloy system, the presence of only small amount of W element not only weakens the chemisorption of CO-like intermediates by lowering the Pt d-band center through compressive lattice strain, but also cleans the active Pt sites by "hydrogen spillover effect", endowing the as-prepared CuWPt nanoalloys at an appropriate Cu/W/Pt ratio with good activity for MOR. In specific, the ternary CuWPt alloy nanoparticles at a Cu/W/Pt molar ratio of 21/4/75 show a specific activity of 2.5 mA·cm−2 and a mass activity of 2.11 A·mg−1 with a better durability, outperforming those ternary CuWPt alloy nanoparticles at other Cu/W/Pt ratios, binary CuPt alloys and commercial Pt/C catalyst as well as a large number of reported Pt-based electrocatalysts. In addition, a single direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) assembled using ternary CuWPt nanoalloys as anodic catalysts shows a power density of 24.3 mW·cm−2 and an open-circle voltage of 0.6 V, also much higher than those of the single DMFC assembled from commercial Pt/C catalysts.