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Methanol electro-oxidation on nanoporous metals formed by dealloying of Ag–Au–Pt alloys

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Abstract

Novel nanoporous structures, with narrow distribution of pore and ligament sizes, were formed by electrochemical dealloying of ternary precursors (Ag–Au–Pt with platinum content of 1, 2, and 3 at.% and 77 at% of silver). These three-dimensional bicontinuous porous network structures proved to be active electrocatalysts for the methanol oxidation reaction. By changing the processing conditions (e.g., dealloying temperature) and/or post-dealloying treatments (e.g., exposure to moderately high temperature in the presence of air) of these structures, the characteristics of the resulting materials were modified (e.g., ligament size and platinum content on the surface of the ligaments) and with that their catalytic response. It was demonstrated that these high surface area nanostructures displayed enhanced specific activity and distinct surface reactivity compared with nanoporous gold formed by dealloying of Ag–Au alloy. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical methods such as underpotential deposition of hydrogen and cyclic voltammetry were used to characterize the resulting nanoporous structures.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank D. Burns and J. A. Tang, from the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility at the Department of Chemistry—University of Toronto, for their help in the performance of the NMR experiments. The authors wish also to acknowledge the financial support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada.

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  1. Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3E5, Canada

    Adrián A. Vega & Roger C. Newman

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  1. Adrián A. Vega
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  2. Roger C. Newman
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Correspondence to Roger C. Newman.

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Vega, A.A., Newman, R.C. Methanol electro-oxidation on nanoporous metals formed by dealloying of Ag–Au–Pt alloys. J Appl Electrochem 46, 995–1010 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-016-0978-5

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