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Amino acid-assisted preparation of reduced graphene oxide-supported PtCo bimetallic nanospheres for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol

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Abstract

In this work, we prepared reduced graphene oxide-supported PtCo nanospheres (PtCo/rGO) by a facile one-step hydrothermal method with the assistance of l-proline as the shape-directing agent. We systematically investigated the effects of various experimental conditions on the morphology and structure of the as-prepared PtCo/rGO hybrids. Compared with commercial Pt/C (10 wt%) and Pt/rGO catalysts, the as-prepared PtCo/rGO has better catalytic activity and poisoning resistance toward methanol electrooxidation and can be used as a promising catalyst for direct methanol fuel cells.

Graphical abstract

The rGO-supported PtCo nanosphere hybrids are successfully synthesized by a facile one-pot hydrothermal method with the assistance of l-proline. l-proline acts as shape-controlled agent for synthesizing PtCo/rGO. The as-prepared PtCo/rGO hybrids exhibit a higher electrocatalytic activity and poisoning-resistant ability for methanol oxidation in acidic media.

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Acknowledgements

Financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant nos. 21573058, 21303044, and 21173070) and the Program for Innovative Research Team in Science and Technology in University of Henan Province (Grant nos. 15IRTSTHN 003 and 17IRTSTHN 001) are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. Wanyi Duan and Aoqi Li contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Collaborative Innovation Center of Henan Province for Green Manufacturing of Fine Chemicals, Key Laboratory of Green Chemical Media and Reactions, Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang, 453007, Henan, People’s Republic of China

    Wanyi Duan, Aoqi Li, Yujuan Chen, Jiahui Zhang & Kelei Zhuo

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  1. Wanyi Duan
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Correspondence to Kelei Zhuo.

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Duan, W., Li, A., Chen, Y. et al. Amino acid-assisted preparation of reduced graphene oxide-supported PtCo bimetallic nanospheres for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol. J Appl Electrochem 49, 413–421 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10800-019-01297-z

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