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Symmetric growth of Pt ultrathin nanowires from dumbbell nuclei for use as oxygen reduction catalysts

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Abstract

This work demonstrates the synthesis of Pt ultrathin nanowires assisted by chromium hexacarbonyl [Cr(CO)6]. The nanowires exhibit a uniform diameter of 2–3 nm. The length can reach up to several microns. It was found that Cr species produced dumbbell-like nuclei which play a pivotal role in the formation of the Pt nanowires. Such Pt nanowires can be tuned to nanocubes by simply decreasing the concentration of [Cr(CO)6]. Compared to a commercial Pt/C catalyst (45 wt%, Vulcan, Tanaka) and Pt black (fuel cell grade, Sigma), the synthesized Pt nanowires exhibit superior performance in electrocatalytic oxygen reduction with a specific activity of 0.368 mA/cm2, which was 2.7 and 1.8 times greater than that of Pt/C (0.138 mA/cm2) and Pt black (0.202 mA/cm2), respectively. The mass activity of Pt nanowires (0.088 mA/μg) is 2.3 times that of Pt black (0.038 mA/μg) and comparable to that of Pt/C (0.085 mA/μg).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Optimal CAE Inc, 14492 Sheldon Road, Plymouth, MI, 48170, USA

    Qiangfeng Xiao & Misle M. Tessema

  2. General Motors Global Research and Development Center, 30500 Mound Road, Warren, MI, 48090-9055, USA

    Mei Cai & Michael P. Balogh

  3. Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Yunfeng Lu

Authors
  1. Qiangfeng Xiao
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  2. Mei Cai
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  3. Michael P. Balogh
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  4. Misle M. Tessema
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  5. Yunfeng Lu
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Correspondence to Mei Cai or Yunfeng Lu.

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Xiao, Q., Cai, M., Balogh, M.P. et al. Symmetric growth of Pt ultrathin nanowires from dumbbell nuclei for use as oxygen reduction catalysts. Nano Res. 5, 145–151 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0191-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-012-0191-8

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